Reunion
by K-el-rizz
Summary: A/U  sort of  Set 10 years after Britt and Santana graduate highschool.  Takes place at their 10 year High School Reunion and even though so much has changed, there are some things that not even time can erase.  Rated M b/c I don't know where it will go!
1. Chapter 1

**Reunion **

**Hellllo! So, this is just something that came to me. I'm starting this and another story for when Playlists is over. Even though I kind of want to continue Playlists into season 3, it'll all depend on how it goes and how I feel about it! If I get a good vibe from S3, then maybe I'll write a Playlists: On Repeat or something! Lol **

**Anywho, this is set in the future, 10 years after our beloved girls have graduated from high school. You can consider it AU I guess, but all of my flashbacks and stuff will come from the seasons and from Playlists, so if you haven't read it yet, you should! It's not extremely important because the flashbacks will be self-explanatory, but it couldn't hurt either! **

**So off topic, ANYWAYS! This is just a small first chapter to see if you guys like it or not. Let me knowww!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 1<br>First Encounter**

Brittany stood in front of the mirror in her old bedroom, staring at the reflection looking back at her. She felt like this was the first time she had taken in her appearance in a long time. Her blue eyes, which used to be so bright, now carried a grayer shade behind them. Not quite as blue and not quite as innocent as they used to be. Her hair, still long and blonde, wrapped gently around her face in a soft tangle of waves. Her face, still beautiful, carried a more mature look, not the normal goofy grin that used to grace it so often in the past. Her body, which was still the body of a dancer, was hugged tight by a midnight blue strapless dress, formal, but nothing too overdone; still city like, but also appropriate for the occasion.

She was older, 10 years older to be exact, and this was the first time she had stepped foot in Lima since the day after high school graduation. She had left as soon as her graduation party had ended; kissing her family and friends goodbye and going to New York City to fulfill her dream of being a dancer. It was her _dream._ It was something she had wanted since the day she had stepped foot in a dance studio and she had lived it. She went to NYU on a full dance scholarship, but only stayed for a year before getting a job at the tender age of 20. She was signed with an agent a year later and blew onto the music and dance scene as one of the youngest in the industry.

She did Broadway, Off-Broadway, concerts, T.V., everything. She had everything. She traveled around the world dancing, proving that she was good enough to be taken seriously. She barely kept an apartment in Manhattan; she was constantly traveling and was only there for a couple of days at a time. This obviously kept her from having any type of emotional ties to anyone, which for her, was exactly how she wanted it. Every holiday she had scheduled to do something work related, which kept her from coming back to Lima. She wouldn't, she couldn't, go back there. So her family would travel to her when they could, only staying for a short time before she told them she had to leave again.

She was lucky enough to still have some people in her life. Quinn, for example, who had come with her to New York to also escape from Lima, had been her sole connection to her former life. The other blonde had become a real estate agent, just like she thought she would be, but her customers were corporate executives and professional athletes, not small town single moms in mini-vans. She was making more commission off of one of her pent-house apartment's selling then Britt was making in a year, but that didn't matter to either of them.

They had lived together for 8 of the past 10 years until Quinn met Andy, her fiancé now, and had moved in with him. It was then that Brittany began to feel the loneliness of her lifestyle. At least when Quinn was there she had someone to come home to, but now it was just her and sometimes that didn't seem like enough anymore.

Brittany was quickly pulled from her musing when her phone went off. It was Quinn, making sure she was ready to go and telling her she'd be there to pick her up in 10 minutes. They had decided that they would go together since Britt didn't have the first idea of a date to bring, and since Andy had to work, Quinn was flying solo for the weekend as well. Brittany grabbed her purse, and after one last look in the mirror, she took a deep breath and opened the door, forcing her feet to carry her toward her past.

The school looked almost exactly the same as it had ten years before. Same landscaping, same parking lot, same football field, everything seemed almost untouched by time. The roads that lead to the school were the same, tree lined and beautiful on the warm June evening. Quinn was driving, leaving Brittany free to take in her surroundings for the first time in many years. She took a deep breath and inhaled the sweet smell of honeysuckle; something she didn't realized she missed until that moment. It brought back so many memories, all so similar to the exact situation she was in now. Driving through Lima, windows down, music up, hair blowing in the breeze, and her best friend by her side… Santana by her side.

It was the first time she allowed herself to think about the brunette since she got to Lima. She had intentionally trained her mind to not think of the girl with the tan skin, deep brown eyes, and long brown hair. But now, back in this old place with all of these old memories, she was flooded with images of the girl she left behind so many years ago. The way her eyebrows would furrow together when she was deep in thought, or the way the left side of her mouth would lift with a half smile when she was trying to be brave but couldn't quite hide it. All of these things came back to Britt and it took everything in her to push it all back down and trap it behind the door she had closed tight in her mind.

_Maybe she won't be here… maybe I won't have to see her… _her thoughts were running wild when they pulled up to the school, and she cringed when she read the sign,

"Welcome Back Class of 2012!"

She never thought a ten year high school reunion could make her feel like the world was closing in around her.

* * *

><p>Santana was standing at the drinks table, pouring herself yet another glass of Champaign when she heard a familiar voice behind her.<p>

"Santana mother fuckin' Lopez." She smiled before turning around, still picturing the boy with the mohawk on his head.

"Noah bad-ass Puckerman…" When he smiled that boyish grin at her, she couldn't stop herself from throwing her arms around him and giving him a big hug. It wasn't like they hadn't seen each other just a few months ago, but being back at school with one another made it so surreal and she just felt the need to hug him.

"Whoa now, we can't let everyone think the Puckasaurus got soft these past 10 years, we're still the bad asses here!" He was clearly joking, but it was nice to hear the old Puck shine through every once in awhile, and for Santana, it helped lift her very heavy heart.

"Ten years… weird right? It feels like just yesterday I was fighting your baby mamma in the hallway…" She had to chuckle. Her fight with Quinn just seemed laughable now when back then it seemed so serious.

"But," They both turned to see Finn standing there with his wife, Santana couldn't remember her name, "we were the great and good at this school."

"Ha!"Santana said as she took another drink, "Maybe some of you thought you were… but we all know I was the shit."She still hadn't lost that ol' Lopez charm and after all these years she would let it out when she felt it was necessary. She loved seeing everyone, don't get her wrong, but she had an unease in her stomach that was not from the bottle of Champaign she had already polished off.

Santana was nervous, which was the understatement of the century. She knew why, even though it wasn't until this moment that she let herself think of it… _Brittany. _She hadn't seen the blonde since the day she left for New York City. Since the day she left Santana behind with no more than a letter explaining how she couldn't do it anymore; how she couldn't do _them_ anymore. Santana's heart clenched when she thought about the drama of it all and was thinking that maybe the blonde had stuck to her word to never see her again. She didn't for a second want to believe her, but after ten years of nothing, she wasn't so sure anymore.

Santana was pulled from her musing when she saw a blonde walk through the door. _Get a fuckin' grip! _ She screamed in her head, _It's Quinn, you saw her over Christmas, calm the F down!_ Quinn had a big smile for the brunette and quickly walked over to give Santana a hug. The blonde showed off her engagement ring and made her rounds to say hello to everyone, only to come back to the Latina's side.

"It's good to see you here you know." Quinn said while staring out at the crowd of classmates that she barely even recognized. "I wasn't sure if you were going to make it or not."

Santana snorted and took another sip from her glass before answering. "Yea well, it's not exactly a long flight from Indianapolis, plus work let me off so I figured I'd make an appearance." Quinn laughed out loud before giving her a small shove.

"San, you own the place, how could you NOT get off work?" She was right, Santana did own the place. She had ended up going to law school at Indiana University after a year off between high school and college. She didn't think college was for her so she put it off; traveling, (and searching New York), and sleeping, (and searching New York), and drinking, (and searching New York some more). She didn't like to admit all the times she had gone to New York City to see shows and musicals, just hoping to catch a glimpse of a blonde dancer that had eluded her for so long.

Her parents were ready to kick her out of the house, so she decided to go to college out of state, picking a good school that had enough people to get lost in. She went to class, made the grades, and was now one of the youngest and most prominent lawyers in the mid west. She opened her own practice after a falling out with a few partners at her first firm, deciding she needed to be able to make her own rules and take on the cases she wanted. She now had several other partners, and amongst them several aspiring law students pining for scraps of attention.

And Santana loved it.

She loved the fact that she had a cup of coffee in her hand by 9:03a.m. when she walked through the door. She loved that when she walked into a court room, her presence alone could win her a case. She thrived off of the fast pace and the even faster talking, delivering opening and closing remarks with a certain wit that only she possessed.

She loved walking into a bar after a day at the office and having happy hour with people that she wouldn't necessarily consider friends, but people she would meet after work for a cold one. And at the end of some of those nights, when the loneliness of her lifestyle would get to her, she could be seen taking a blonde haired blue eyed girl home for a night of hot sex that meant absolutely nothing.

Everyone knew that Santana was gay, but it was not talked about. She was free to have her one night stands without people in the office speaking of it because they knew they would be having their balls for lunch. So Santana continued her lifestyle of court rooms, bar crawls, and the parade of blue eyed girls to keep her satisfied. It was the instant gratification that was important to Santana, not any form of a relationship. She had given her heart up once and refused to let it go again; so instead she continued on her path, working her ass off and occupying her time the best way she knew how.

* * *

><p>Brittany was standing in the hallway, still trying to catch the breath that seemed to be caught in her throat. <em>I can't do this, I can't see her. <em>Quinn had refused to let Brittany leave once they had arrived and refused again when Britt had asked her to text her to let her know if Santana was there. It had been the first time that name had escaped her lips in the presence of someone else in a very long time, and it felt rough in her throat and thick on her tongue when it finally came out.

So here she hid, sitting outside the doors of the gym, not wanting to enter but also not able to leave. Her limbs felt heavy, something, as a dancer, she wasn't used to. She knew she couldn't wait forever, and when her phone buzzed, she was terrified of the message.

_Get your ass in here B. I'm not waiting around all night. –Q_

Leave it to Quinn to tell her to just walk in and see what happens. Quinn was the one person who had stood by her when everyone else had chosen Santana's side. Quinn, who supported her regardless of the situation, was now giving her the only advice she could, _get your ass in the here. _ She knew Q was right; she needed to get in there and face whatever was coming because she knew that this was her only chance to fix her past misgivings.

With a deep breath and all her inhabitations left at the door, she pushed it open and strolled into the gym, preparing herself for an onslaught of something. She wasn't sure what it was going to be, but after all the preparation she had made for this moment, she felt utterly lost as to what to do next.

She stood in the doorway for what seemed like hours, just scanning the crowd near her, not allowing her eyes to drift further out, afraid of what they might see looking back at her. The world didn't stop. No one screamed or yelled. No one even noticed her entrance. Then she heard it, "Brittany!"

_Berry. Thanks for giving me a subtle entrance. _She thought as Rachel bounded over and pretty much jumped into her arms. They had been working together on and off for the past few years; Brittany being a dancer in a show that Rachel was doing or something along those lines. Rachel had run off to Julliard and had actually become pretty good friends with both her and Quinn, something that never would have happened if Santana had been in the picture.

"I didn't think you would be making an appearance!" Rachel half-yelled in her ear, "Did Quinn come too? I kind of figured you two would be here together."

Brittany was still trying to control her breathing as more and more people began to notice her entrance. Mike and Tina (with a baby bump), were making their way toward her while Finn and his wife (_Jesus, how much have I missed?) _were also approaching.

"Uh, yea Rach, she's here somewhere. I had to stop at the ladies room on the way in, so I kind of lost her in the crowd." _Already telling lies; haven't been here 10 minutes and you're already weaving a web. _

"Hey Britt!" It was Mike, who now had her in a bone crushing hug and was spinning her around. "It's been way too long! When did we see each other last? Was it the Phantom tour in Phoenix? Geez, that was like six years ago!"

Mike had also become a dancer, but he and Tina had gotten married and they wanted to settle down, so they moved to Phoenix for Tina's job and Mike opened a dance studio. Brittany had been on tour doing Broadway Across America shows and they just happened to run into each other when she was in town. It didn't bother her, she had always loved Mike and Tina, but it only made her feel more terrible about her life. She had missed their wedding, missed their first daughter being born, everything. All at once a conversation from 11 years prior jumped to her mind.

"…_.And I know I'll be a bridesmaid at Mike and Tina's wedding... And I'll be anxiously awaiting just like everybody else to see if their babies are Asian too…"_

She had missed so much. She was looking around at the smiling faces and realized just how much she had missed. Finn was married. Mike and Tina were a family. She looked over and saw Mr. Schue and Mrs. P standing arm and arm, Emma also with a baby bump. _Well, maybe it's Mrs. Schuester now. _She thought.

She couldn't believe that she had run from all of this for so long. She had intentionally distanced herself from everyone and now it seemed like she had been the one left behind. They all seemed to have a life, and what did she have? She had an awesome dance resume that in 15 years wouldn't mean a damn thing. She had connections to every major music and dance company in the country, but she had nothing to show for it. Sure, she led a free-spirit lifestyle, but when there's no one there to share it with, it wasn't everything it was cracked up to be. She was alone, and for the first time in a long time, she was feeling that nagging in her stomach, that feeling of regret.

She was brought back to their little circle of friends when Rachel yelled over the music, "Quinn! There you are! Get your butt over here!"

They all turned to look toward where Rachel was yelling, Brittany the last to rake her eyes across the party and toward Quinn. When she did, her heart stopped. It literally quit beating. She had never felt the wind leave her body on its own accord before. She had never felt like her brain was spinning around in her head, making her so dizzy she thought she was going to fall down.

She mentally stumbled over the name of the girl in front of her, but after she got over her initial shock, it was running wild through her brain, _Santana Santana San San Santana… _All the years of stopping herself from thinking about it and pushing it behind a closed door didn't seem to matter at this moment; there she was, in the flesh, a mere 50 feet from where Brittany was standing.

The blonde felt a familiar tingle run up her spine as she took in the girl in front of her. She was wearing a fitted black dress, cut low in the cleavage and high and tight on her thighs. Her hair was pinned at the side of her neck, letting her hair flow freely over her shoulder, highlighting her high cheekbones and chocolate brown eyes. Brittany's heart had started beating again when she looked into those eyes; actually, it wasn't just beating, but running an all out sprint.

No one seemed to notice that she was falling to pieces inside because they were all making their way toward Quinn and Santana. Brittany, on the other hand, stood rooted in place, unwilling and unable to move her feet any further. She felt like she was in a trance that could only be broken if she looked away from the brunette, _from Santana,_ but she couldn't. She hadn't seen that pair of eyes looking at her in ten years, and her body over road her mind, and she couldn't look away.

* * *

><p>Santana had seen her the moment she walked through the gym doors. She saw the way she had stopped dead in her tracks and refused to look out into the crowd of familiar faces. She saw the look of panic that entered her eyes when Rachel had yelled her name, causing anyone near them to look over. She saw the way Rachel jumped into her arms and she felt the way her body tensed when the jealousy coursed through her already high-strung body. <em>She's not yours anymore<em>, she chastised herself, _she can hug Rachel forever for that matter. _

The brunette could feel Quinn looking at her, but she couldn't look away from the other blonde across the room. "She's still so hot." Quinn said nonchalantly, obviously trying to get a reaction from the Latina, but getting nothing but a snort in return. It wasn't that Santana didn't agree, it was just that 'hot' wasn't the right word. Beautiful, gorgeous, amazing; those were the right words. Because she did look beautiful; her body still moved like that of a 17 year old dancer, full of grace. She did look gorgeous; her makeup perfect, the pout of her lips exactly like she remembered. And she did look amazing; ten years had done nothing to the girl except make her even more beautiful than the day they graduated high school.

Santana couldn't help but swallow hard as she took in the girl who still stood in the doorway, drinking her in as if she was the last sight her eyes would ever see. A shiver ran down her body when she saw Brittany smile at something Mike had said; she wasn't sure if it was a shiver of pleasure or pain, because at the moment, she was feeling both. It was a thrill to see the girl after so many years; but, a familiar ache was stomping on her chest at the same time. _She left me… just packed up and left and never looked back... She doesn't want me. I need to stop this._

Santana wasn't trying to be dramatic, she was just being realistic. Britt had left her. She did disappear into New York and even when Santana had tried to get her whereabouts of her parents, they were no help in her quest to find the blonde…

0o0o0o0o

"_Mrs. Pierce, you have to know where she is! She's your fucking daughter!" Santana was standing on the Pierce's front porch, tears running down her face and Brittany's note clutched in her hand._

"_Santana, watch your language!" Mrs. Pierce had never scolded her before, so this was a change. "And of course we know where she is, and so do you. She's in New York." Santana knew they weren't getting anywhere with this conversation, but she had to press the issue because she needed Brittany. She needed to know why this was happening and she needed more than just a fuckin' note to tell her. _

"_But where!" Santana had practically yelled at the older woman, her frustration not only evident in her tears, but also in the way her breath was coming in short spurts. _

"_San," Marcia's voice became apologetic, something that to this day pissed Santana off, "she told us not to tell you. She needs time and she knows you'll come looking for her, so we're not supposed to tell- Santana! Sweetheart, come back!" _

_But the brunette couldn't hear anymore. She was running. She was running so hard that she thought her legs were going to collapse out from under her. So hard that she thought her lungs would stop breathing and that her heart would stop beating. She reached her car and hit the gas hard, her tires leaving nothing but smoke in the rearview; which was kind of appropriate, considering the love of her life also left in a puff of smoke…_

_0o0o0o0o_

She had actually driven to New York that day. She didn't stop after she rounded the corner by her house, she just kept going. She had her dad's credit card and a full tank of gas, and at the speed she was driving, she could make it to NYC in 6 hours. So she drove, sometimes having to pull over to furiously wipe away the tears that were continuously running down her eyes and blocking her vision. Sometimes she screamed at the top of her lungs, hoping that some sort of release would lift the weight off of her chest, but it didn't help.

She arrived on the outskirts of the city around dusk and that's when it hit her. _I have no idea where to even start…_ she thought as she drove to the train station. She took the train to Times Square, hoping that the tourist attraction would attract her best friend since it was Britt's favorite part of the city. She walked around for hours, just looking through the crowds of people and ignoring the constant vibration of her phone that were her parents calling to find out where she was.

She had looked for her for three days; just wandering through Central Park, Rockefeller Center, Times Square, and any other major attraction. One time she thought she had seen her, but after sprinting down the street, she got within 10 feet of the blonde girl and realized it wasn't her Britt, it was just another blonde hair blue eyed girl who graced the streets of New York City.

What Santana hadn't known, was at that exact moment, Brittany had gone back to Lima to do the exact same thing.

* * *

><p><strong>Let me know what you think and if I should continue! This won't be super long, maybe a few chapters, but I kind of like it, so let me know!<strong>

**xoxo-Kat**


	2. Chapter 2, Everything Changes

**SO! I've decided that this story will be loosely based on the show… basically 'Gay Panic 2011' will be involved, what I think their senior year will be like, and then so on. I'm not going to base anything off of Playlists… this is its own entity. This story is taking a different route for me, and I don't want to have to cling to any ideas or preconceived notions that I have to carry over stuff from my other stories. So! Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><strong>Reunion<br>Chapter 2  
>Everything Changes<strong>

Neither girl had moved positions since locking eyes with one another. Santana was still stuck in the past, remembering everything that had transpired over the weeks following Brittany leaving Lima. She was thinking about all of the tears that had fallen and all of the sobs that had racked her body till exhaustion. She was thinking about all of the anger she felt toward the blonde, some of which was surfacing at this very moment while staring at her. And she was also thinking about how much she had loved her. She could recall every touch with almost perfect clarity, she could remember how every kiss had tasted, and she could almost remember how it felt to see that smile and how it could light up her own personal world, regardless of how bad her day had been before seeing it.

Brittany, on the other hand, was thinking about the present. She had spent the last ten years in the past; all she could think about was what was standing in front of her. She noticed the way the Latina's body still had that small, subtle curve to it, the way her eyebrows were perfectly shaped, and how the hint of a smile but also the hint of anger was flashing in brown eyes. She was thinking about how Quinn was standing so nonchalantly at Santana's side and how that was _her _spot. Finally, she actually _looked_ at the brunette; she looked at her like they used to look at one another when they were having a silent conversation, but for the first time, she couldn't understand what the other girl was trying to say. It was like the 'mute' button had been pushed and there was no undoing what had been done.

Quinn wasn't oblivious to the exchange and as much as she wanted to help these two through this possibly very awkward weekend of reminiscing, she wasn't going to stand there and watch them gawk at each other from across the room all night. _Jesus you two, get a freaking grip._ She thought as she waltzed up to Brittany and grabbed her by the elbow, effectively ending the staring contest between the two, and dragging her to the circle. She was at least considerate enough to put them a few people apart; she didn't need either of them spontaneously combusting all over everyone.

So there they stood. The entire Glee club crowded into a small circle, reminiscing about their high school days. Talks of winning nationals and going to college were replaced by questions about their kids and starting families. Some hadn't seen each other since the day they had graduated, while others seemed to fall right back into place as if it were just yesterday.

Mr. and Mrs. Schuester joined in and the circle widened, leaving an even larger gap between the two girls. Both were trying very hard to keep the conversation directed away from them, but Mr. Schue and all of his inability to notice tense situations ended that real quick.

"So Brittany," he began, causing all conversation to cease and causing the blonde to take the spot light, "how are things? You basically danced right out of here, the only way I knew you were still in New York was through your parents! How have you been?"

_Real freaking smooth Schue_ thought Quinn as she watched every eye turn to Britt, most wondering the same thing. But she noticed one set of eyes that was looking down at her empty Champaign glass trying not to look interested.

Brittany on the other hand was the epitome of a hot mess. She didn't want to have this conversation here, not now, not without giving Santana some sort of an explanation first. She wanted to do that privately and not with prying eyes and ears all around her. So instead, she gave the edited version.

"Well, I went to NYU for a year but decided it wasn't for me so I dropped out." This piece of information seemed to snap San right out of her daze because, even though she wasn't looking at her, Britt knew she was listening. "So instead I started auditioning for Broadway, off Broadway, you know, just a job. I got an agent about two months later and then signed with Mamma Mia! about two weeks after that as a dancer and part of the ensemble. Rachel was already in the ensemble and was a back-up for one of the main players? Is that right Rachel; I can't remember, it's been so long ago?"

She had planned this part of her story well, knowing that if she could somehow switch the attention of the group to Rachel, the diva would bask in the attention and the spot light would no longer be on her. And it worked like a charm. Rachel was now chatting about her rise to Broadway glory and all of the shows she has done in the past ten years. It's not like everyone hadn't heard all of these stories before, but it didn't hurt them to have to hear it again.

Brittany was no longer listening and instead was focusing once again on the girl across the circle. Santana had stopped a waiter and had another glass in her hand, this time something a little bit darker and a whole lot stronger than the Champaign she was drinking earlier. Britt had heard Quinn mention something about San 'taking it easy' but the brunette shrugged her off and continued drinking her mixed drink.

_Great, she doesn't even want to be around me, let alone be around me sober…_ Britt thought as the Latina once again took a huge pull off of her drink. They made eye contact once again and the blonde saw the anger, frustration, and above all else, the hurt, in Santana's eyes. The depth and weight of those eyes had almost made her legs give out, but she was whipped back into reality with a single word.

"Ladies."

With that one word, three women in the group suddenly wrenched their shoulders back and stood up even straighter than they already were. Their eyes all locked and they each felt a tingle run down their spine when a familiar voice barked at them from a few feet away.

"Preggers, Sandbags, Tweedle-Dumb; my office. Now." Coach Sylvester was the last person that any of them wanted to see, let alone talk to. They had enough problems on their plate at the moment, but it was momentarily forgotten when Santana suddenly jerked forward a little and seemed like she was restraining herself from ripping the older coach's head off.

"Don't you dare call her-" Santana stopped. She was caught before she even let the entire sentence leave her mouth. She realized what she was doing, defending Brittany, and had to take a calming breath before she said any more. She looked up to see a small smile on Brittany's face, but the blonde was considerate enough to not make eye contact again.

"Always the protector," Sue said with no hint of malice in her voice, "But really girls, just for old times' sake? Santana, I have harder liquor than that stuff your drinking stashed in my office for moments like this one." And she had the Latina hooked. Santana was already walking toward the exit behind Coach Sylvester before the two blondes even knew what was happening. They both glanced at one another before hurrying after their old coach and throwing apologetic and confused looks to their classmates before heading down the hall way.

"I wonder what she wants." Quinn asked, feeling a little scared for her life at the moment. "I mean, I haven't spoken to her since graduation, what could she possible have to say to us?"

Brittany just shrugged and continued walking through the school, almost on autopilot, to the cheer coaches' office. When she stepped in, it was like stepping back in time. Nothing had changed. There was still trophy's everywhere, pictures of Sue with the president, plaques with online doctorate degrees, and the old margarita machine, which was being put to use by one Santana Lopez. But instead of putting ice and mixers in the machine, Santana was pouring herself shots of tequila and downing them before either blonde could stop her.

Once Santana had a decent amount of the hard alcohol in her system, she plopped down on one of the chairs and waited to be lectured as if she were 17 again. And once again, on autopilot, Quinn sat in the middle and Britt on the edge opposite of Santana. Coach sat down and started talking to them.

And when I say she was talking to them, she was actually _talking_ to them. She wasn't talking at them, she wasn't yelling, and she wasn't making cryptic and senseless remarks. She was asking about their lives and how things had been going for them since they graduated. She congratulated Quinn on her engagement and dropped a hint that she wanted an invite to the wedding.

She seemed proud when Santana mentioned her law degree and how she owned her own practice. And she even smiled a little when she found out Santana had cheered for a couple of years in college.

Brittany, on the other hand, wasn't smiling. She could barely contain her tears when she had heard all of this stuff about Santana. She had no idea that San had become a lawyer, or that she went to school out of state, or that she owned her own practice. She couldn't help but think about all of the other stuff she had missed. She wondered if Santana had a girlfriend and even the thought of it sent a shiver up her spine. The thought of another woman touching her perfect body, or getting to see her naked, or getting to kiss her made the blonde's skin crawl. _What if she doesn't want me? What if I'm too late? _ The thoughts felt like poison in her brain and were making the room feel like it was spinning. She tried to get her emotions in check before anyone noticed, but she was too late.

"Brittany. The rule still stands." Sue said while eyeing the blonde's reactions from across the desk. "There will be absolutely no crying in my damn office!" She didn't say it as harshly as she would have if it had been ten years prior because obviously something in this conversation had struck a nerve. She had noticed how none of the girls, especially the two previous lovebirds, had so much as spoken a word to each other when entering the office, and she couldn't help but notice the way Santana leaned forward slightly at the mention of the blonde's tears.

"Wait." Sue said, finally starting to put this puzzle together. "When was the last time you guys all saw each other?" She was truly curious because these three, but especially the daft dimbo and her sidekick amigo, had been inseparable in high school. She waited a minute or so and when none of the girls spoke up, she barked a "Well?" to the group and finally Santana answered her question.

"Well, you could say it's been about, oh I don't know, ten years? That seem about right to you guys? Cause, you know, time just _flies_ when you're having fun." Santana spit out, venom dripping thickly from every word that poured from her lips. _I can't take this, this is absolutely ridiculous… _she thought as she stood up abruptly, knowing she would not be able to control her word vomit much longer before erupting on everyone in that small office. She walked toward the door and flung it open, slamming it against the wall, before entering the hall way and walking away as fast as she could.

But finally, _finally, _she could hear the click of another pair of heels echoing through the halls and following gracefully behind her.

* * *

><p>"You did that on purpose." Quinn stated as she watched Brittany leave the office and take off in the same direction as Santana. She turned back to see her old cheerleading coach leaning back in her chair and smiling at her from across the desk.<p>

"You know what Q, sometimes people just need a little push."

* * *

><p><strong>I know I know, super short, but I wanted to give you guys something! No worries, I'm finding time to finish this, one way or another! So here's something to tide you over until then! Let me know what you think!<strong>

**Xoxo-Kat**


	3. Chapter 3, Broken Isn't Easily Fixed

**I know, quick update! But I got inspired by all of your reviews! You guys have been seriously amazing! I'm so glad you like the story so far! Also, I guess I should explain something. This Reunion is a weekend long event. The first part started on Friday night (where we are now) and won't be over until a picnic on Saturday. So hopefully that helps a little.**

**Anywho, not much explaining, just picking up where we left off.**

**Oh, and disclaimer: Glee isn't mine; because if it was, Brittana would have happened a year ago and I would be filthy freakin' rich. :) **

* * *

><p><strong>Reunion<br>Chapter 3  
>Broken Isn't Easily Fixed<strong>

Santana wasn't going to stop walking, regardless of who was following her. She didn't have to look back to know who was behind her. She could tell by the way the heels hit the linoleum floor that it was Brittany. But she wasn't ready to stop.

So she walked the halls of her old high school, not slowing at the Cheerio Trophy wall or even at the New Directions case. She wasn't even sure where she was going until she arrived there. It seemed pretty appropriate once her feet stopped moving and she took in her surroundings. She was standing in front of a row of bright red lockers. Lockers, just like the hundreds of others in the school, but these two lockers were different. These lockers had witnessed a lot.

They had witnessed the rise of a friendship and the rise of a dynasty of two girls at McKinley High School. They had housed many secrets that only a select few had ever been let in on. They got to listen to conversations that no one else, besides the two woman standing mere feet apart, had gotten to hear. They witnessed heartache, the fall of a friendship, the rekindling of that friendship, and finally love. They had seen it all; so it only seemed appropriate that once again these lockers bore witness to the possible rise or demise of these two people again.

"You know," Santana said, drawing patterns on the cold red metal and not turning around to look at the girl behind her, "I was kind of praying you wouldn't be here tonight, that you wouldn't be able to make it."

They stood there for what seemed like hours, neither really breathing but both wishing the other would either respond or continue.

"But," Santana finally cracked, "here you are."

She took a deep breath and turned around, finally addressing Brittany for the first time since laying eyes on one another over an hour ago. She wasn't looking at Brittany, oh no, that would have been too much to bear. Instead, she met her eyes, but refused to travel deeper all the while refusing to let the other girl travel deeper into her own. She could tell Brittany was trying very hard to look into her mind, to try and read her thoughts, but she had perfected a stare that not even her oldest friend could penetrate.

"Stop doing that." Santana said bluntly, breaking the eye contact and glancing down the hallway in hopes that someone would break up this reunion.

She wasn't sure why she was feeling this way. She had waited ten years to see the blonde again, but right now, with said girl right in front of her, all she wanted was to be away from her. She was so _angry_ at her, and it wasn't something she was used to feeling toward B, and she just wanted to get away.

She noticed that Brittany still had not said anything and when she looked up she could see why. Brittany didn't close herself off like Santana did, she was an open book, laying open like your favorite book with the broken spine lays on a table; completely exposed and showing all of its contents. She looked so tired, so defeated, with a hint of anger but more so the painfulness of regret and sadness. Santana almost broke right then and there.

Almost.

She couldn't do anymore of this tonight. She knew she had the entire weekend of dealing with Brittany, and tonight, with the amount of alcohol in her system plus the shock of seeing the blonde, Santana just needed to go to her parent's house and sleep it off. She spun on her heel and managed to take a couple of steps before she heard a small squeak from the girl behind her.

"Please..." Brittany whispered; her voice thick from the lump in her throat. "I'm sorry… please just hear me out."

Santana wanted to turn around. She wanted to scream and yell and tell her how terrible of a person she was for leaving her the way that she did; with no reason or explanation. Just gone. Instead, she said a few simple words.

"You know B, sometimes things can't be fixed with a few 'I'm sorrys'. Sometimes, you just can't change everything."

* * *

><p>Brittany didn't move when Santana turned around and walked away. She couldn't. Not when her own words from ten years ago were thrown back at her like that. Not when the words that she had scrawled onto a piece of paper when she was 18 years old were now being used to explain that their situation hadn't changed, the roles were just reversed.<p>

0o0o0o0o0o

_Brittany was sitting on her bed staring at her packed suitcase. Everything else she owned was already in her car, prepared to leave out as early as possible the following morning. She still wasn't sure if she could go through with leaving everything behind, but she knew that for her dreams to come true and to prove she could make it on her own, she needed to go. And she needed to cut all ties that could hold her back from achieving something she had worked her entire adolescence for. That included the one person she didn't want to live without_

_She knew Santana would try and follow her if she moved to New York. They'd get a place together and probably go to the same school. They'd spend every waking moment together, planning their future and making plans. Brittany knew that if it came down to Santana getting her dream or Britt getting hers, she would let San win every time._

_And that thought terrified her. _

_For one fleeting moment she saw it all unwrapping. She saw herself going to NYU to dance but stopping and getting some dead end business degree so she could work so she and Santana could get a place. She'd watch Santana become a doctor or a lawyer, spending long hours in a library while she waited around for her to come home. Santana would be the one everyone would be proud of while little Brittany Pierce just stood in the shadow. _

_Finally, her anger and pride won the fight. She knew it was selfish and she knew it went against every fiber of her being, but she also knew that she wanted her own life. And she couldn't see that if she was forever second fiddle to the needs of another person, and she made her decision._

_She grabbed a notebook and hastily wrote out her last letter to Santana. They had written several of them since they had become a couple, and even some before then; all of which were hidden away safely in a box under her bed. But this one was not a love letter. It was not a note just to say hi or 'I love you'. This was the earth shattering kind that would leave both ends not tied neatly or tightly, but dangling lose for years to come. _

_It was short. And it was anything but sweet. _

Santana,

I'm leaving for New York at dawn. I can't say goodbye because I know I'll never leave if I do. Please find it in your heart to forgive me someday for this, but we're just not good for each other. We hold each other back and tie each other down, and I can't do it anymore. I have to find my own way, without you holding my hand and steering me in the right direction. You held me back for the last four years, mostly to protect me, but in the end, it only hurt me worse. Apologies are too late and 'I love you' is not enough. Sometimes things can't be fixed with a few 'I'm sorrys'. Sometimes, you just can't change everything.

Don't come looking for me, I'm not yours to save anymore.

Brittany.

_She sobbed the rest of the night, not sleeping a bit before grabbing her last duffle bag and shoving it in her car when the sun started to rise. She said goodbye to her parents and little sister without as much as a tear falling and made her way to Lima Heights. She pulled up to the curb and climbed out, leaving her car running while she approached the house. _

_She wanted to call out. She wanted to throw rocks at her girlfriend's bedroom window and wake her up, see her standing in her driveway, and then run out and beg her to stay. She wanted Santana to keep her there; to hold her firmly in her arms and let her cry and tell her everything would be ok. _

_But she couldn't._

_She stood there for what seemed like hours, just listening to the sounds of the birds chirping and the rumble of a garbage truck down the street. It was so peaceful at dawn; it made her wish she would have stayed up late (or early) a few times and watch the sun rise with Santana before she left. But her time was up; their time was up, and there was no going back now._

_She slowly made her way over to the red mustang in the driveway and ran her fingers along the hood, tracing the contours of the car and wishing her finger tips were touching the owner's skin rather than cold metal. She stopped at the windshield and lifted a wiper blade, settling the note between them and turning to leave. But before she did, a twinkle hanging from the rearview mirror caught her eye._

_There, tangled amongst a 2012 graduation tassel, was a silver charm bracelet. It was symbol of everything their friendship and relationship stood for. A pom pom to represent what had brought them their friendship, a treble cleft note for what had brought them their love, a clover to give them luck, and the last, and most recent addition to the bracelet, a heart. _

_Brittany couldn't look anymore. One more reminder of the girl she loved sleeping just a few feet from where she stood was starting to break her down, challenge her resolve. She took one last wistful look up at Santana's window, almost daring her to be looking back down, before getting into her car and driving away._

_0o0o0o0o0o_

Brittany was surprised to find herself still standing in front of her old locker, just staring at the numbers etched into the metal. She ran her hands along the lock and gave it a pull, not completely surprised that it snapped open. When she was in school, she always kept her lock on the last number so she could reopen it without having to remember the combination.

She knew it was wrong, but her curiosity got the better of her and she opened the swinging door. The locker obviously belonged to a girl judging by the contents. But she wasn't interested in what was inside or who it belonged to, she just wanted to see if _it_ was still there. She grabbed a few books and pulled them out before grabbing her phone and shining the light onto the back panel. And sure enough, standing out as if it had been scratched into the metal yesterday, was her reminder.

_San + Britt 4 Eva_

Santana had used a pocket knife at the beginning of their Senior year to scratch that in there. She said it was for when they weren't here anymore; people would still know how absolutely awesome they were and that they were going to be together '4 eva'. Brittany had laughed then, but now, tracing the letters with her fingertips, she knew just how true those words should have been.

Without a second of hesitation, she threw the books back and ran straight toward the gym. She almost collided with Quinn who was pacing outside of the doors, obviously waiting for Brittany to come back.

"B, what the hell?" Quinn asked, obviously wondering what had taken place between the two girls after Santana came back and apologized for needing to head home. She complained of a head ache, which Quinn had seen straight through that lie, and said she would see them all the following day for the picnic at the park. Q had tried to talk to her but was brushed off as the Latina headed toward the parking lot.

"Where is she?" It was the only concern of Brittany's at that moment. She needed to talk to her. She wasn't going to lose her voice like she had back at their lockers and she wasn't going to lose Santana like she had 10 years before.

"She went home. What happened? Did you guys talk?" Brittany wasn't ready to answer Quinn's questions, instead asking to borrow Q's car and asking if Rachel could take her home. Quinn agreed and handed over her car keys, only to pull back before Britt could snatch them and be on her way.

"Britt, are you sure about this?" Quinn asked hesitantly, unable to hide her distress. She knew what both of these women were capable of when they were angry and upset. They would lash out, and she didn't want them to be alone if or when it happened.

"I have to find her. I have to make her understand." She said, staring at the keys as if they were a lifeline. She looked up and met hazel eyes, ones filled with 10 years of bitter and sad memories. Ones of Brittany crying on the bathroom floor in the middle of the night, hoping no one was awake to hear. Ones filled with Brittany sitting in her car in the parking garage for hours on end, fighting with herself on whether or not she should drive back to Lima. And ones filled with 10 years of regret for not putting a stop to a situation she knew should be fixed.

Quinn could clearly see the pleading look in the other blonde's eyes, and after a moment, she raised the keys and dropped them into Brittany's waiting hands. The blue eyed girl swept in and gave her a quick hug before racing through the gym, out the side doors and mashing the button on the key ring. She saw Quinn's car lights blink twice and before she could comprehend how fast this was happening, she was driving the familiar streets of Lima, winding quickly to the other side of town where the love of her life was lying wide awake and staring at the ceiling of her childhood bedroom.

* * *

><p>Santana had barely gotten through the door before her mother was greeting her with a smile that turned from happy to one of concern in an instant. <em>Leave it to my mother to notice something is wrong…<em> she thought as she tried to dodge any questions and just get upstairs. Her ma and her had become closer after she moved to Indianapolis; distance causing the two to reconnect after years of thoroughly ignoring each other in the past.

"San, how did everything go?" Her mom wasn't dumb, she knew that this was going to be a difficult evening for her daughter, and the fact that she was already home proved that the night didn't go as well as she had hoped.

Santana was almost up the stairs when her sarcasm couldn't be contained any longer. "It was freaking peachy mom. Brittany was there, so you can imagine how THAT went! But seeing everyone again made for a _charming_ evening at McKinley High!" And with that she stomped up the stairs.

Her mother, Annette, wasn't thrilled with the idea that her daughter had run into her ex, but it also gave her hope that maybe they could patch things up between them. She had always thought that the two were made for one another and seeing how things fell apart in the past made her question if love even existed if those two couldn't even figure it out.

She sighed when she heard her daughter slam her bedroom door and she felt like she was ten years younger again, watching her baby fall apart right before her eyes. This was her main concern for her daughter; that she would come back here and have this happen to her, to have her heart broken once again by her oldest friend. But before she could think into it any deeper, there was a timid knock on her front door, and even after many years of not hearing it, she would recognize it anywhere.

Santana, on the other hand, was oblivious to the noise and hushed conversation occurring downstairs. She was face first in her old bed, inhaling the sweet scent of home that seemed to be calming her down. She didn't know what to do anymore. After seeing Britt for the first time, her mind was running a mile a minute. She couldn't seem to form a coherent thought as to how she was going to make it through the remainder of the weekend without her head exploding.

She thought about leaving; just packing up and going back to her life in Indianapolis and forgetting about the rest of the weekend. She could do it, but there was that tiny voice in the back of her mind that kept saying, _'Wait… just give her a chance. Give her the benefit of the doubt.. hear her out..'_ But that wasn't what Santana wanted to do. Her heart wanted to protect itself from what could happen. It had already been shattered once, and it had taken ten years to piece it back together. She wasn't sure if it was worth the risk and hurt again.

She had reached no clear resolution of her plans when she heard the knock on her door. She had been so deep in thought that she had completely disregarded the way the knock had sounded, because if she had been paying attention, she wouldn't have groaned out, telling her mom to leave her alone. And she wouldn't have been so shocked and surprised to see Brittany walking through her bedroom door.

* * *

><p>"Your mom let me in." Brittany said timidly, looking down at her shoes and not making any sort of movement of coming further into the room. If Santana hadn't been feeling such a whirlwind of emotions, she probably would have acknowledged the statement, but instead she was suddenly furious with her mother.<p>

"Ma!" She yelled, jumping off her bed and heading toward the door. She swept past Brittany and almost lost her footing when the blonde's scent slammed into her. She hadn't noticed before, but she still smelled the exact same as she did ten years ago; all vanilla and coconut. She was brought out of the moment when her mother responded.

She stormed out of the room, leaving Brittany free to look about while still catching snippets of the conversation happening down the hall in the master bed room.

"Why did you let her in! I needed time away from her to clear my-" Santana's mother hushed her and the conversation continued in whispers, making it impossible to hear anything else. She decided to take the time and get reacquainted with her surroundings.

She hadn't been in this room for a long time and it had changed dramatically in the years since. The once black walls were now a nice beige color; _I wonder how many coats it took to cover that up. _She thought as she ran her fingers over the desk top. She continued to move around the room, noting the smaller changes that had occurred. Bob Marley posters were replaced with large photos of flowers while the bed spread was white with a large assortment of throw pillows that matched the color of the flowers in the photos.

This was definitely not the bedroom she had fallen in love in. This was simply another guest bedroom in the Lopez residence that was only being occupied for a short while before being vacant by the end of the weekend. She couldn't help the lump that formed in her throat with the thought of losing Santana again. She knew this weekend couldn't last forever, but seeing all of these changes reminded her of why she was here. She needed to talk to Santana. She needed her to know that she made a mistake and that she would do anything to fix it again.

She was looking at the photographs that were on the dresser when she sensed another person in the room; not just any person, but the one person she could feel looking at her above any other, even if she were in a room with a thousand people.

"I thought I had walked into the wrong room at first," Brittany whispered, afraid that anything louder would shatter this calm before the storm. "I was expecting the smell of burning incense and some Amy Winehouse playing on your iPod, but obviously a lot has changed, huh?"

Santana didn't have a response. She could tell that Britt was trying to be casual; trying in true Brittany fashion to keep the atmosphere calm when all Santana wanted to do was erupt. But she wasn't a kid anymore and she refused to give in to her emotions. Instead she walked over to her bed and sat Indian style against the headboard amongst the pillows and watched the blonde move about the room, taking her in like a drowning man takes in air.

She noticed how the blonde seemed to carry herself with a different air; not exactly bad, but more adult than the Britt who used to dance around in her underwear to whatever song was playing on the radio. She kept her shoulders back and her back straighter than normal, a sign of tension that, Santana knew, was something she only did when she was about to perform or something she did when she was really nervous.

"You came here for a reason Brittany." Santana couldn't stand the silence any longer and chose to break it by breaking the tension as well. "So, why don't you tell me what you've been up to for the last ten years… and not the edited version? I think I deserve that much." She didn't say it in a shitty way, just in a very matter-of-fact tone.

She watched as Brittany took in a deep breath and turned around, nodding a little before meeting Santana's eye for the first time since entering the room. She walked over to the bed and took a seat on the edge, unsure if she was over stepping by being so close to Santana, but she couldn't help it. It was like gravity. As soon as she had seen Santana in the gym earlier that evening, it was like there was an invisible pull that was telling her that she needed to be close; telling her that she needed to make up for all the loss of contact that had occurred between the two girls for so long.

She was playing with her hands again and was still refusing to meet Santana's eye for more than a second at a time. She let out a big breath and whispered almost too quietly for Santana to hear, "You deserve so much more than just a story…"

And then the tears started. She had tried to keep them at bay but knowing that she had caused Santana so much pain was now breaking her. She knew of regret, but this was something different. This was so much deeper than just matters of the heart or body or mind; this felt as if her soul was reaching for its counterpart sitting a mere foot away but couldn't quite reach it. It took her breath away.

She felt a finger go under her chin and just one touch sent a shock through her body. She looked up to see brown eyes staring intently at her and she felt like she was 17 again. She felt as if she could sit on this bed all night and spill every secret to the woman across from her like they did every night for years. But she knew they weren't kids anymore and she knew that the Latina across from her needed more than just an apology for what she had done. So, with a deep breath and the brown eyed gaze to keep her grounded, she retold the last ten years of her life.

* * *

><p><strong>This chapter wrote itself. I wasn't expecting to update so soon, but when inspiration hits, you just gotta go with it. NOW! I have 3, 12 hour work days coming up in a row so I won't be updating probably until next week, But keep the faith, this story is coming along pretty well in my head. <strong>

**Also, something else I wanted to add. I got my idea for this story from a song, an Adele song if I must say. I refuse to turn this into a song fic, but if you want to hear it, it's called "Don't You Remember". It's pretty much perfect and has so far been playing in the background constantly while I write. Just thought I'd share!**

**Love the reviews, love my readers! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! **

**xoxo-Kat**


	4. Chapter 4, Beauty in the Breakdown

**Big dialogue chapter ahead. I try to keep it as fluid as possible, but sometimes it's hard to do. Hopefully it's easy to follow! Any questions, just mention it in a review or PM me and I'll try to address it! **

**And big shout out to everyone who reviewed, that little mailbox on my phone e-mail makes me smile!**

* * *

><p><strong>Reunions<br>Chapter 4  
>There's Beauty in a Breakdown<strong>

Santana wasn't sure what to expect at this point. Brittany still hadn't started talking, but she refused to say another word until the blonde got her thoughts together. So she waited, in true Santana fashion, for Brittany to begin her story. She didn't know if she really wanted to hear the details, but there was a piece of her who needed to hear it all. A part of her that needed to take in every freaking minor detail, analyze the shit out of it, and then store it away to be analyzed again another day.

Both women were sitting Indian style of Santana's bed, facing each other; Santana by the headboard, leaning against the wall and playing with a loose string on the comforter while Brittany fingered the edge of the pillow in her lap. San was starting to get impatient and the tension rolling off of her wasn't making it any easier for Brittany to begin telling her story.

Brittany's hair was falling around her face, concealing herself from the brunette's steady gaze. It was something she had learned in college; keep your head down and your eyes focused on something else and you'll get by. But she knew the girl sitting across from her could see right through the defense mechanism and she decided it was time to do what she came here to do. She took another deep breath and looked up at Santana and the weight of her stare almost made her regret even trying to patch things up.

There was so much hurt and anger boiling behind the brunette's perfectly calm façade; Britt wasn't sure if she could even convince her of anything, but she knew she had to try. She knew that for the sake of them both, she had to try. And trying wasn't something Brittany had felt like doing in a long time. It made her feel tired before even starting, but another look at Santana gave her enough strength to begin.

"How much do you already know?" She asked Santana; she didn't want to be repetitive in her story because even if they hadn't spoken in ten years, she knew she still talked to Quinn and she wasn't sure how much had been shared.

Santana laughed a little while shaking her head from side to side, "I don't know anything. After Quinn moved there with you and she refused to give me anything, I decided that I wasn't going to ask anymore. And I guess you two became allies because she never spoke of you to me after that. I think she knew better…"

She trailed off, trying desperately to keep the bitterness out of her voice, but she forgot who she was talking to. Brittany could hear a change in her voice better than she could, and the look of frustration that passed over Britt's features was enough to make her ask the blonde a question.

"What did you think? That people were feeding me information about you and I just ignored it? That I gave up on you after you left?" She was getting angry now, but before it could reach a boiling point, there was a tap on the door and her mom walked in with two cups of coffee.

"I figured you girls could use one of these." She said as she handed each a mug, trying to act as nonchalant as possible. "Let me know if you need anything you two."

"Thanks Mrs. Lopez." Brittany responded with a smile, taking a grateful sip of the hot drink and willing it to give her the nerve she needed to finish this conversation. She then felt a set of arms wrap around her and a murmur in her ear, "Don't you start that 'Mrs. Lopez' stuff with me missy. It's still Mom #2 to you, and don't you forget it." Brittany squeezed her eyes closed at Annette's words, the older woman not realizing how much it meant to the girl in her arms for saying that. It gave Brittany hope that she still had a fighting chance to right some of her wrongs.

When Mrs. Lopez, ah-hm, when Mom #2 , left the room, the small amount of hopefulness seemed to leave with her.

"She always liked you best." Santana said softly, eyeing the girl across from her, "Even after we came out to her, she could never hold it against you. She never got mad at you."

"Like mother like daughter…" Brittany whispered, mostly to herself. It was true though. Santana could never hold anything against Brittany, she could never get mad. She glanced up and caught the whisper of a smile on Santana's face before it vanished just as quickly and Brittany realized that that theory was about to be put to the test.

"And to answer your question, no, I never thought you'd give up." Brittany said, "That's why I left the way that I did. I knew that if I told you I needed to leave, you would do everything you could to get me to stay, or try to come with me." Even though Brittany had written these words in her last letter, she felt like she needed to explain herself further.

"I was so scared San," she confessed, staring into brown orbs that still held every ounce of misery and mistrust in their depths, "I was scared that I had lost myself when we became a couple, because it had been about you for so long. We were so worried about your reputation, about your parents, about what people would think of you. I never stopped and thought about what I wanted or how I felt, and when I finally did, my selfishness won. I wanted things to be about me, and even though that makes me a terrible person, I just felt like it was the right thing to do, you know? And it's not your fault, that's not what I'm saying, I really truly believed that I would be in your shadow forever because I had you on a pedestal so high, I didn't think_ I_ could even reach you. I never thought I was good enough for you."

She looked at her hands after this confession, unable to say more because her throat was slowly closing up on her. She didn't realize she was crying until she saw a tear drop hit the pillow case, causing the color to darken with the salty stain. She rubbed furiously at her eyes, willing herself to stop crying, but the gesture was fruitless; the tears she wiped away were quickly replaced with fresh ones.

"I never thought I was smart enough, or pretty enough, or rich enough, or anything else." She continued, "I never felt 100% worthy to be standing next to you, to be holding your hand; and I guess my irrational side took over and I ran."

Brittany looked up and saw the confusion in Santana's features; the way she had her bottom lip tucked into the side of her mouth and the way her eyebrows were furrowed so deeply it caused worry lines to form on her forehead. She wanted to reach forward and smooth out the lines, but she knew it wouldn't be a good idea to touch the Latina, so she continued gripping the pillow and waiting for some type of response.

"You still haven't answered my first question." Santana said gruffly, trying hard to ignore the guilty feeling in her chest after hearing Brittany's confession. _ I refuse to feel bad for her right now… I might have messed up, but right now this is on her. _She thought as she took in Brittany's now confused face; she decided to elaborate. "What have you been doing for ten years? You know what, first, I'll tell you what I've been doing. It can be done in a nut shell really."

She didn't want to become her bitter old self, but something in the atmosphere of the room was causing it to reemerge and she decided not to stop now.

"Did you know I drove to New York that day?" Santana said; the shocked look on B's face told her she hadn't known that. "I stayed there for three days looking for you, calling you, leaving you voicemails saying I was there. And I got no response, not one. Do you know what that's like? Waiting by a phone praying that it rings?"

The tears were threatening to fall down Santana's face, but she pushed them back, refusing to give in to them. "Then one day, I tried to call you and it said your phone was disconnected. So I drove back to Lima. I stayed here for a year, just moping around my parent's house and occasionally calling your mom hoping she would let something slip."

This news seemed like a slap in the face to Britt, whose mom had never told her that Santana was calling and trying to find her. But, after thinking it through, Brittany knew that her mom was just following her wishes. She had told her not to tell San where she was, for both of their sakes, and obviously her mom had kept that promise.

"I drove to New York 7 different times that year; just going to different shows at NYU and Julliard, hoping to see you somewhere. I never did. You just kind of disappeared, and the last time I went there was in the fall of 2013. I was starting school at Indiana University and I knew I wouldn't be able to go back to New York for a long time. I walked around the city for a week, praying I'd find you, but I never did. On the drive home I made a vow to never look for you again, and I haven't, and will never, ever break that promise to myself. "

She was serious about that promise. Never again would she look for Brittany or beg her to stay. She had spent too many nights praying for her to come back to her, and she refused to put herself through that again.

Brittany also realized the weight of such a promise. Santana wasn't necessarily saying she had given up, but she was not going to chase her anymore. She wasn't going to stop living her life if Brittany disappeared again; and the fact that 10 years ago Santana would have done anything to hang on to her, well, it broke her heart more to know that she no longer had that type of hold on the woman she loved.

"Maybe I should just go…" Brittany said, slowly pushing herself up off the bed and heading for the door.

"Sit down." Santana said sternly; she refused to let Brittany leave without giving her side of everything. She refused to let the next ten years go by without something close to closure. And, even if she didn't want to admit it to herself, she couldn't stand the thought of not seeing the blonde woman again.

Brittany wasn't sure if it was a request or a command, but the simple fact that Santana still wanted her there made her feet move forward and bring her back to the bed, placing herself back into her original position.

"So anyway," Santana continued as if the story had not been interrupted. "I went to Indiana University and started working toward a pre-law degree. I was bored so I tried out for the cheerleading team, and between that and school, my last couple years of college flew by. I got my law degree and got on at a firm I was interning at right after I graduated. I only stayed there for a little while before I opened my own place."

Brittany noticed how low Santana's voice had gotten at the mention of her old firm, like she was hiding something or leaving a piece of information out. Brittany wanted to know and she could tell Santana was going to skip over it, so she interrupted her.

"Why did you leave?" It was a whisper from the blonde, and Santana knew she had been caught. She didn't want to reveal the actual reason as to why she left her old firm, because it would probably only hurt Brittany, but since she asked, and since Santana was never able to lie, she continued.

"I was having an affair with one of the other lawyers." She saw Brittany flinch at the mention of Santana being with someone else. Deep down it hurt San to see her hurt, but it also gave her a bit of satisfaction to know that it was affecting her. "She was married and her husband found out. She was technically my boss, so she told me to either quit or be fired, so I left. I begged my parents to help me buy a spot in a strip mall in Indianapolis and I called a few friends from college and we all went into it together. We've only been going for a little over a year, but, it's paying the bills and we're getting more clients every day, so I guess it was the right move."

She drifted off, her story now complete. She knows it was boring, with only the little bit of drama, but it was her life. She had put everything she had into making her life as uneventful as possible, and after recapping it, she knew she had succeeded.

Brittany, on the other hand, wasn't satisfied. She wanted to know details; she wanted to know how Santana spent her summers and her spring breaks, she wanted to know what her friends were like, and even if she didn't want to hear it, she wanted to know if she had dated anyone or if she was currently seeing anyone. These were the things she wanted to know, but it was evident that the brunette was playing her cards close to her chest and she wasn't going to lay them all out for the blonde to see just yet.

"So now you know what I've been doing for the last few years, what about y-" Santana was cut off by the blondes' urgent whisper.

"Did you date anyone? Are you seeing anyone now?" The questions flew out of Brittany's mouth before she could stop herself. She had to know. She had to know if someone else held the heart of the woman across from her.

Santana was taken aback by the questions and she wasn't sure if this was something she wanted to talk about right now. But even after ten years, one look into blue eyes flattened her resolve, and she answered before even realizing it.

"I messed around..." She stated nonchalantly, shrugging her shoulders a bit and catching the flash of agony that passed through Brittany's eyes, "I dated a couple of girls in college, but they were all so needy, so clingy, and I couldn't deal with it."

She looked up, intentionally catching hold of the blue eyed gaze before continuing, "I guess once you've had a taste of perfection, everything else just pales in comparison." She realized how corny that actually sounded coming out of her mouth, but Brittany's reaction was enough to make the self-consciousness and her small blush disappear.

Brittany broke into a wide grin, unable to hide how happy those words made her. It was the silver lining in a cloud covered sky for Brittany to hear those words. It made her feel like her world was becoming whole again; those little words out of Santana's mouth were enough to make _her_ feel whole again.

"What about you?" San asked, her voice smaller than normal. In truth, Santana wasn't sure if she really wanted to know, but she figured if they were on the subject, they might as well get it out there. She noticed Brittany shake her head side to side a little, and she thought she wasn't going to answer, when in reality, that was her answer.

"I haven't dated anyone since you…" Brittany trailed off, her cheeks flushing pink. "I convinced myself I was too busy with work to date anyone, but, I don't think that was the reason…"

She could feel Santana's eyes on her, willing her to say the words, but she couldn't. Not yet. There was still so much they needed to talk about, and admitting that she hadn't dated anyone because she was slowly dying inside without the girl across from her wasn't something to reveal after ten years of separation.

They sat in silence for several minutes, both avoiding any eye contact with one another. Finally, Santana took a deep breath and asked again, "Where have you been B?"

The way she said the words made Brittany's heart break. When she looked up, her heart broke more to see how small the strongest person she had ever known looked at that moment. They held the look for a long minute, neither trying to hide all of the emotions in their eyes that, up until now, had been trapped behind vacant stares.

_0o0o0o0o_

_It was raining on the first day of class at NYU. She had a couple of general courses that were required, but she had signed up for two dance classes as well. Her English and History classes would probably be the end of her because she had never really learned any of that stuff in High School, and without anyone there to help her, she wasn't sure how she would survive it._

_Her two dance classes were the high light of her day. She got to be free of everything for a few precious hours and she lived for the moments when the music would start and her thoughts would stop. Not thinking was her only option. _

_0o0o0o0o_

_Quinn moved to New York that spring and started taking classes at NYU with Brittany. She was getting a Business degree because she had no idea what she wanted to do with her life. She and Britt got an apartment together right after the end of freshman year and made the decision that it was them against the world; Brittany was going to quit school and start dancing professionally and Quinn was going to finish school and get a big girl job._

_The conversation of quitting school with her parents was not an easy one, but she knew it was the right thing to do._

"_Mom," she practically whined into the phone, "I'm literally failing all of my non-dance classes, there's no point in me continuing when I can't even keep the grades."_

"_But honey," her mom replied while her dad grumbled in the background, "Maybe if you tried a little harder or got a tutor or something. Santana was always able to-"_

"_I already dropped out." She deadpanned. Hearing that name for the first time out loud almost made her knees give out and she needed to get off the phone before she broke down. "I'll call you later." And she hung up._

_Quinn found her three hours later sitting on the kitchen floor, clutching an almost empty bottle of Jack Daniels in one hand and a silver charm bracelet in the other._

_0o0o0o0o_

_Her first agent tryout was her only agent tryout. She barely got through the number before Greg Collins walked on stage and offered her a contract. He was an up and coming agent, already making a name for himself by being the agent for both the Glinda and Elphaba understudies for Wicked, along with several other dancers and actors in the business. _

_She signed on the dotted line and a few months later she was dancing around with Rachel Berry on stage for Mamma Mia!. It was almost winter break of 2013, and thank god for all that is Broadway, because she only got a couple of days off from the show before she had to be back. Quinn had offered to fly her home with her, but Brittany refused, saying she needed to relax on her days off before starting the show again. _

_I mean, Chinese takeout for Christmas isn't so bad, right?_

_0o0o0o0o_

_She got her big break the following fall; a full time dancer for Janet Jackson's comeback tour. She didn't think she would get it, but after being referred by several different instructors and dancers on and off Broadway, she was given the job. _

_She packed up and for the next two years, she was in New York a handful of times. She still paid half the rent for her and Q's apartment because she knew it was the right thing to do, but sometimes she wished it was just her so she didn't have to check in with anyone. It was the selfish side of her that had made her leave Lima in the first place that was resurfacing, and it was the first time her and Q had a fight._

"_It's not my fault you chose to do this tour Brittany!" Quinn yelled back at her, completely exasperated that B would even pick a fight about anything, especially the rent. "What in the hell is your problem?"_

"_What's my problem? My problem is that I'm paying rent for a place I don't even stay at! I've been here a total of 10 nights in almost two years, and still I'm shelling out half the rent and its bullshit!" Brittany screamed back, but her anger was already cooling. She didn't know where this was coming from and she knew she needed to stop it because it wasn't the girl in front of hers fault. _

"_I'm not Santana Brittany! You can't get pissed and just take it out on me!" Quinn covered her mouth right after the words escaped. She immediately rushed to the dejected looking girl's side and pulled her into a hug. "I swore to myself I would never do that to you. I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry…"_

_Brittany wasn't sure what to think. She was in shock, because Q had been her person the last few years. The person that looked out for her and even when she was gone, would check in on her to make sure she was doing ok. But she hugged her back, not because she accepted the apology, but because she knew that the girl in her arms was all she had left._

_0o0o0o0o_

_**Spring 2017**_

_Quinn graduated from NYU with honors, which didn't surprise Britt at all. Every night she'd come home to find the girl asleep on her books or writing furiously in a notebook, so seeing Quinn with that extra sash on her graduation gown made perfect sense. _

_That spring, Quinn had also met a new guy. His name was Andy, and in Brittany's eyes, he was the worst thing but also the best thing to ever happen to her best friend. She might not know a lot, but she knows people, and she could see by the way he looked at Quinn that they were meant to be. It was that same doe eyed goofy grin that she used to get when Santana walked into a room. _

_She fooled most into thinking that she was ok, but Quinn knew better. She could tell that every day was a struggle for Brittany to get out of bed and go to work. And when Andy came into their lives, she could see Brittany slowly becoming a robot; just going through the motions and trying to act supportive for Quinn's sake when all she wanted to do was crawl into a hole and die. It might sound bad, but it killed her to know that she could have had that type of happiness, and she felt even worse for resenting Quinn for having it when she didn't. _

_This was another of many nights when Quinn found Brittany, this time on the bathroom floor, clutching a different bottle of alcohol in one hand, the same charm bracelet in the other._

_Quinn called Santana that night, whom had been at a raging party by the sounds of it, and begged her to come to New York. The only response from the other end of the phone was an old school rap song, then finally she heard Santana yell over the noise, "What Q? I can't hear you! I'll call you back! Love you! Bye!" _

_She never called back. _

_This was the night Quinn saw the last of the light leave Brittany's eyes._

_0o0o0o0o_

_Brittany wasn't sure what had changed in the following two years, but she threw herself into her work. She was either auditioning or practicing, living the life of a dancer in New York; sometimes barely scraping by with the rent money while Quinn continued to rake in the cash. Brittany would never be able to repay Quinn for the times she had spotted her money during this time in her life, but she knew that she would do anything for her hazel eyed roommate. _

_She had considered stripping for money; she knew she had the dance skills and the body to pull it off, and she would probably make a killing if she got into the right clubs. But after running the idea by Quinn, who practically screamed the word 'NO!' at her, she decided to try and get on with another tour. _

_And she got lucky. _

_Like, Gaga Lucky._

_And the next year and a half was nothing but a whisper of lace and satin._

_0o0o0o0o_

_**Fall 2020**_

_Quinn and Andy got engaged and moved in together, deciding it was time to find a place of their own. It was a good thing Quinn was a powerhouse real estate agent because they got a bangin' place in SoHo that some would kill for. The day that Q's stuff was all out was the day Brittany let herself fall apart. It had been eight years of having someone take care of her if she needed it. Someone to look out for her, make sure she ate breakfast, make sure she had all her clothes on before she left the apartment, and right now, sitting in Quinn's empty bedroom, she felt like she had nothing._

_She looked around at the vacant walls and decided to turn the place into her own private dance studio. It was small, but it would work. She bought a bunch of cheap mirrors from an old department store that was going out of business and arranged them around the room. She was pretty proud of herself after seeing the results, and for the first time in almost a decade, she danced for herself._

_She grabbed a bottle of water and her iPod dock and walked into the converted room, setting both down on a chair and hitting play. She smiled, like genuinely smiled, when she heard the song that began to play and for the first time since she could remember, she felt hopeful about where her life was going._

_0o0o0o0o_

_**Fall 2021**_

_She hadn't checked her mail in almost a week; something else that she had deemed a 'Quinn Activity' and decided since she was thinking about it, she might as well grab it. She threw it down on the counter before leaving again; needing to get to the theatre early to go over some new choreography they had changed the previous day. _

_She was now the lead dancer in Wicked, which meant she was in charge of the entire ensemble and their dance moves. Even though the show had been running for almost 18 years, there were still new dancers to train and some minor changes in choreography from time to time. She got to perform on a nightly basis with Rachel, who, regardless of her old opinion of the girl, turned out to be a total sweetheart._

_They could be seen having drinks after a show or arriving together after brunch in Manhattan. Quinn tagged along on some of these excursions and the three became close friends, to many people's surprise. It was at one of these outings when the Reunion was brought up. Brittany was shocked by this news and after thinking about it more, about the amount of time that had actually passed since she last stepped foot in her home town. And after getting genuinely upset for not even knowing about it, she then realized that she had yet to sift through the last few weeks' worth of mail, which probably held the invitation._

_She was in her own world, thinking about all of the possible scenarios that could unfold if she went home, when she felt Quinn's hand on her leg, looking at her with half fearful and half sympathetic eyes._

"_Are you gonna go?" She asked, unsure of the reaction she was going to get from the blue eyed blonde. _

_Brittany surprised her when she looked up with a glint in her eye, one that Quinn hadn't seen in many years._

"_Yes."_

_0o0o0o0o_

"I feel like it was all such a blur," Brittany said shakily, "just a bunch of uneventful events that took me from one place to another…"

Santana wasn't sure what to think. They had been sitting for well over two hours, their mugs now empty, and her head full of more questions for the girl across from her. They had barely looked at each other during the story and it only seemed to be getting more awkward as the silence dragged on between them. Out of nowhere, Santana remembered the question that had been on her mind after hearing a particular part of Brittany's tale.

"What was the song?" She asked, glancing up and noticing the confusion on Brittany's face, "You know, the song you danced to in your make shift dance studio? You said it made you feel better; what was the song?"

Brittany grinned a little, the memory still fresh in her mind after retelling her story. She wasn't sure if she wanted to say, knowing Santana's view of all things Journey, but she couldn't help but give in and hope the Latina didn't laugh at her… too much.

"Don't Stop Believing." She stated, trying very hard not to laugh a little herself, but Santana did enough laughing for the both of them. She burst out laughing, partially from exhaustion but mostly because, _go figure, _it would be a frickin' Journey song.

"You're joking right?" She barked out in between bursts of laughter, tears streaming down her face. After seeing Brittany nod a little, she laughed even harder, unable to control it.

For Brittany, that laugh was like music to her ears. She hadn't heard it in ten very long years, and right now she was basking in all of its greatness. Santana's laugh was contagious, and it made her all warm and fuzzy inside to hear it again. In fact, it was making her laugh, like _really_ laugh, and she hadn't felt this light, she was certain, since before the day she left Lima at 18.

After both took a couple of deep breaths to quiet their child-like laughter, silence returned, but it wasn't awkward like before; it actually felt ok. Both women noticed the change, and neither could deny that it felt good to be this comfortable around one another. But before anything else could be said, Brittany's phone was ringing from her purse.

She hopped off the bed and gave the screen a small smile before answering. Santana couldn't help but feel the tingle in her body watching Brittany get comfortable in her desk chair. She was swiveling around in it and answering the caller's questions without adding much on her end of the conversation. Santana was finding herself enthralled by the little quirks that she remembered about Britt, the ones she was witnessing now.

The way she would bite on her lip when she wasn't sure how to answer a particular question, or the way her eyebrows went up when something interesting was said, and the way she picked at the ends of her hair when the conversation was boring her. She couldn't help the smile from creeping onto her face when seeing all of these small things again, and when Brittany swiveled around and caught her eye in the mirror, she gave her a quick wink before going back to her conversation.

It probably should have bothered Santana that the blonde was on the phone during this epic conversation, but she could tell by the line of answers that it was a work call, so she didn't interrupt. She just continued watching the woman in front of her slowly turn back into the 17 year old girl that she fell in love with.

* * *

><p><strong>I know, a lot of dialogue, but I hope you like the way I did Brittany's story. I wanted to go back in time, not just have her speak the whole damn thing. <strong>

**To the reviewer who begged me to not put them together right away; we are on the same line of thought. I'm not going to give anything away, but no, they won't be having crazy sex or dropping 'I Love You' any time soon. Sorry, if that's what you want by the next chapter, you might as well wait a few more updates. **

**Just keepin' it real… ;) **

**Let me know what you think! Oh, and Journey reference, just couldn't help myself! :) **

**xoxo-Kat**


	5. Chapter 5, Apologies

**This chapter was inspired by a song, it's called Apologies by Grace Potter & the Nocturnals. If you've never heard of her and this band, they are amazing… I refuse to turn this into a song fic, but I wanted to give you some lyrics to the song.**

He said it's crazy  
>How love stays with me<br>You know it hurts me  
>That I didn't figure it out before<br>And now it's too late for a soliloquy  
>Way too late for dignity<br>It's time for apologies

**Enjoy**

* * *

><p><strong>Reunion<br>Chapter 5  
>Apologies<strong>

It was 2a.m. and the two women still sat cross legged across from one another; making small talk about the last few years of their lives, never touching on anything to heavy or deep that could cause the easy bantering to be cut off. Instead, they talked about their friends from their respective lives; Brittany's dancer friends and her and Quinn's friendship with Berry. Santana scoffed at the idea of being friends with Man Hands, but decided for the sake of keeping the conversation light, she wouldn't comment.

Santana spoke about the few friends she had made in college, saying how between cheerleading and law school, having friends wasn't an easy task to keep up with. Sure, she was friends with the girls on the squad, but there was always a fine line that she kept from crossing, making sure no one got to close. It was what the old Santana would have done, and it seemed to work out for her in the end.

Finally the chatter became less and less, both girls starting to feel the exhaustion creeping in after such a trying evening. Brittany's eyes were starting to get that heavy look, a look that Santana knew well. If it were ten years ago, Britt would start slurring her words, falling sideways onto the mattress, curling herself into a tight ball while trying to stay awake and talk to San. The brunette would then coax her into some sweats and a t-shirt before tucking her into bed, sliding in next to her and cuddling into the blonde's side; but they weren't 17 anymore and Santana knew that it wouldn't, it couldn't, happen tonight.

It was all feeling too familiar to Santana and her instinct to run and hide was starting to kick in again. She wasn't going to let this happen; she wasn't going to let Brittany back in this easily. She wasn't going to let the blonde fall back into her arms and have them pick up right where they left off, even though a growing part of her wanted just that.

She wanted Brittany to start slurring and ask her to tuck her in and sing her to sleep. She wanted to feel the heat of Brittany's body lying against her own. She wanted to drown in blonde hair and vanilla and coconut and feel that feeling deep in her chest that told her it would be ok to be submerged in that heady scent forever. But right now, at this moment in time, it couldn't be that easy, could it?

* * *

><p><em>I could stay here forever… <em>Brittany thought as she felt herself slipping further and further into her exhaustion. The smell of Santana was surrounding her, as if it had clung to the bed, the pillows, the walls; just waiting on her return so it could envelop her and make her feel at home again.

_Home… _she thought as she let out a big sigh, thinking about how this room had felt like her second home for so long and how she seemed to settle right back into the feeling. It made her feel so happy but so sad all at the same time; happy because the place hadn't lost its familiarity, but sad because she knew that she had missed out on ten years of this feeling. All she has felt for so long was loneliness, but here, in this place, she felt that her world was perfect, and she didn't want to lose that feeling just yet. _Stay awake… keep talking to her… _

She opened her eyes to find that Santana was no longer on the bed, which made the blonde think that she probably dozed off and missed the moment when the bed had been vacated. She rolled over and noticed the lights were off, except for the bedside lamp, and the in suite bathroom light was on. She could make out the sound of someone brushing their teeth and glanced down to see Santana's shadow moving just barely from the crack under the bathroom door.

She knew that Santana was probably brushing her teeth, toothbrush hanging out of her mouth, reaching for a hair tie to pull those brown locks up into a messy bun so she could wash her face. Brittany knew this nightly routine; it was one that she had watched a million times and one that she knew better than her own. At any moment, San would walk out in boy shorts and a tank top, tell her to 'scoot over' and climb into bed with her. She'd reach over and turn off the lamp then pull Britt onto her chest, let the blonde listen to her heartbeat, kiss the top of her head, tell her she loved her, and fall asleep.

Brittany was so lost in thought she almost missed the moment when Santana walked out of the bathroom; but instead of the boy shorts, she was in an old pair of IU cheer sweats, and instead of the usual tank top, she was sporting a baggy white v-neck t-shirt. The look was different and it reminded Brittany of the situation they were in and that the last four hours of talking had not changed anything. They were new, different people, and the change of sleep wear only intensified her anxiety of not being able to fix them.

"Hey, I thought you were down for the count." Santana said as she made her way around to 'her side' of the bed, which in turn only caused Britt's heart to ache a little.

"Yea, I think I passed out there for a second…" Brittany mumbled into the pillow that was placed under her head. She realized that Santana had most likely put it there for her, and it made her chest tighten in that all too familiar way. "I need to get going…" she said as she pushed herself up into a sitting position, "I still have Quinn's car."

She didn't want to leave, she wanted to stay wrapped up in the familiarity that had seemed to settle into her very bones, but she didn't want to push it. She didn't want to make this night, which had gone so much better than she had ever prayed it would, an awkward one. So she made the decision that going home was probably in her best interest; plus she didn't want to feel like an idiot by attempting to stay if Santana didn't want her to.

"Oh.." She heard the other girl say and she looked over to see a slightly crestfallen Santana pulling back the blankets, "ok, well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

Brittany wasn't sure if she was reading the brunette correctly, but somewhere deep down she had a small feeling that Santana wanted her to stay. She knew it wasn't going to be _that_ easy, but maybe, just maybe, Santana hadn't woke her up because she wanted her to be here.

She didn't want to guess wrong, and since she didn't want to look foolish for trying to stay, she started to gather her stuff. She was reaching for her shoes when she felt a finger hook onto her pinky; it sent a shiver through her entire body to feel that again. She turned to find Santana standing right behind her; a look of pure frustration on her face, but it was mixed with something else. To Brittany it looked like the brunette was fighting an inner battle, like she was trying to decide the best way to proceed.

She let Santana work through her internal struggle, staying quiet and letting her eyes flicker between the chocolate brown ones, trying to figure out exactly what her oldest friend was trying to say. She heard a whisper of a word, but she was certain her mind was playing tricks on her and she continued to stare at San, willing her to say it again.

"Stay…"

* * *

><p>Santana wasn't sure why she said it, but deep down she knew that she couldn't bear the thought of watching Brittany walk away and leave her again; even it was just for the night. After being reunited with her best friend, and after the hours of discussion, she didn't want it to end. She was worried that she would wake up in the morning and this would all be a dream; that she would go to that picnic and Brittany wouldn't show because it had all been a figment of her imagination.<p>

She wanted to keep the blonde in her sight, at least for another day, so she could sort through all of her feelings. She was feeling _so_ much right now; so much anger, but it was subsiding with every passing minute. So much hurt, but that feeling was slowly being replaced by a stronger one, one that she wasn't willing to acknowledge at that moment. She was confused, and she felt like she wasn't in control of her emotions, which terrified her as well, and she wanted Brittany there to keep her grounded.

The blonde always had a way of keeping her calm, of being her anchor when she felt like she was losing it, and right now, with the last ten years being re-hashed within just a few hours, she felt like she was drifting, and she needed something, someone, to keep her in place. She looked up and noticed the look in Brittany's eyes, and immediately she felt like her feet were planted firmly on solid ground again.

"Ok…" she heard the blonde say, and without warning, Brittany was wrapping her arms around the smaller girls' neck, pulling her into a hug so tight, Santana could barely draw a breath. But it felt right, it felt as if Brittany was trying to pull together all of the broken pieces of their past, and for the moment, both girls just enjoyed the feeling. Santana wrapped her arms around Britt's waist and they stood there, both remembering how they used to joke about how they were made for one another, how their bodies fit perfectly together; a jigsaw puzzle of legs and arms, necks and heads.

They stayed like that for a few more moments before pulling apart, neither sure where to go from there. Santana broke away completely and walked over to her bag and pulled out a tank top and shorts and threw them to the blonde. Brittany would have normally just stripped down and changed, but this was different, things had changed, so instead she headed into the bathroom. She didn't realize how hard she was breathing until she took in her appearance in the mirror.

Her hair was a little disheveled from dozing off, her makeup a little smeared, and her eyes were bright. Like bright bright bright blue. She had never really noticed how dull her eyes had been until she took in the way they looked now. It was like someone had sparked something in her that had been hidden for years, and she didn't even have to think about it, she knew that that person was Santana Lopez.

_San…_ she thought to herself as she changed into the borrowed clothes, secretly loving how they gave off an even stronger smell of the brunette. She looked at herself in the mirror and stared in a state of shock for a moment before turning around and staring at the name that was printed on the butt of the shorts: Pierce. She immediately pulled at the tank top and noticed the tag, which could barely be read, had a 'B' on it. She released the shirt and stared in the mirror again, the beginnings of a smile forming on her face.

Santana still had some of her old clothes.

It made her heart flutter to know that Santana still had these small tokens of their relationship and it made her smile turn into a full blown grin when she realized that San not only had these items, but had packed them with her, most likely to sleep in. She let herself hope that even after all that had happened with them that maybe, just freaking maybe, things would be ok.

* * *

><p>Santana was lying in bed when she heard the bathroom door open and she fought the urge to turn around and pick up the covers on the left side of the bed and let the blonde slide underneath them. Instead, she kept her back to the door and Brittany, and waited to feel the bed dip beside her. When it didn't happen after a couple of minutes, she turned over and faced a very torn looking Britt.<p>

She was standing next to her side of the bed, biting on her lip like she actually wanted to break the sensitive skin, and staring at the empty space next to Santana, looking very unsure of her next move. It wasn't that Brittany didn't want to crawl into the bed and sleep next to her best friend, she just wasn't sure if she was supposed to get in or sleep on the floor. So instead of making the decision, she just waited for Santana to make the first move.

After a moment longer of staring, and Santana's cheeks turning a deep crimson after realizing exactly _which_ set of clothes she had given Britt to sleep in, she reached over and pulled at the edge of the blankets, pulling back the comforter to let the blonde know where she could sleep. She could visibly see Brittany relax at the gesture, and she gently patted the bed before rolling back over and willing her mind to shut off for the remainder of the night.

She knew it would be hard to sleep, but she was hoping that with Brittany's steady breathing beside her, her dreams wouldn't be filled with the usual scenes; ones of Brittany leaving her in the dark and not being able to find her way out of the vast ocean of blackness. She had been plagued with these nightmares for years, driving her college roommates crazy when she woke up sobbing the blonde's name out in the middle of the night. It even resorted to her getting her own place her last few years of college; unable to hide the pain and embarrassment every time a new roommate asked who Brittany was.

She felt the bed barely dip when the blonde climbed in and it surprised her how she had forgotten exactly how gracefully Brittany was. Years ago, she could flip Santana over on the mattress and not move a pillow or sheet out of place; she could lock her legs around the brunette's body and rock her into ecstasy without making a sound, and _STOP SANTANA. Stop. _

Santana refused to do this to herself, so instead, she spent the next few minutes trying to talk herself into believing that she only let Britt stay the night because she was too tired and it wouldn't be safe to let her drive home. _ Exactly… she's too tired and it was me just looking out for her well being… driving tired is a bad idea…_

"San…" She squeezed her eyes shut, willing herself to fall asleep before Brittany could continue with whatever thought she wanted to talk about.

"Santana..." But of course, Brittany knew the way Santana breathed when she was sleeping, and she knew she couldn't fool the blonde, so instead, she answered.

"What?" She didn't mean for it to come out so harshly, but there was still that edge to her voice that would take some time before it could go away.

"Thank you…" She whispered, so low that Santana almost missed it, but what she didn't miss was the sadness in Brittany's voice as she elaborated, "thank you for not hating me… for not shutting me out when I came over here. I wasn't sure how all of this would go, and I'm just glad you were willing to listen. Because," she stopped to take a deep steadying breath, one that didn't go unnoticed by the Latina, "I really didn't know what to expect, I didn't know if you would even talk to me, so thank you, for still being here."

Santana couldn't stop herself as she turned over and looked into those deep blue eyes, the ones that had haunted her for years. She literally almost fell into them.

"You welcome." She said, and she flipped back over, unwilling and unable to give in to what she wanted. She wanted to just forgive Brittany and start over, but there was that nagging in her chest, one that couldn't be pushed aside by a couple of apologies and thank you's. That feeling of terror that she would open her entire heart to the blonde to only have her run away again; it wasn't something she would forgive and forget in the course of a night, and she wanted Britt to understand that.

A few more minutes passed, both girls' breathing becoming deep and relaxed as the heat from one another's bodies made the bed feel warm, almost too warm. But it had a cozy feeling to it as well, one they both recognized and one that they had both missed for a long time. Santana didn't even think about it when, in her sleepy state, she flipped over to face the blonde again.

She found that Brittany's eyes were still open, deep blue searching her face as if she was trying to memorize it. She watched as Britt's hand appeared and pushed a few stray brown fly away's out of her face, and she closed her eyes at the blonde's touch that grazed her cheek. She felt that same hand linger on her cheek and could feel the warm breath on her skin when Brittany spoke again.

"I haven't seen them in so long," she whispered to Santana, "please don't close them yet…"

And as if a command, she opened her eyes and stared back at the woman in her bed. She wanted nothing more than to roll over and try to ignore all of the feelings in her body, but she was helpless and at the mercy of the woman across from her, so she complied with the request, knowing that she felt the same way.

They sat there for a long time, the only light in the room coming from that annoying street light right outside her window, one that she used to hate but became grateful for as time went on. She had never realized how much she loved that street lamp until the night her and Brittany had sex for the first time. Santana knew that Brittany loved her, but she wasn't willing to reciprocate those feelings, and to her it was just sex. But as time went on, she learned exactly how deep those feelings ran for her best friend.

They lay almost in the same position as now, but much closer together; both breathing heavily after the mind blowing and eye opening experience they had just shared. The light was seeping through her blacked out curtains, barely visible through the thick fabric that was hung there specifically to keep said light out. The thin stream of light made a perfect line across her bed, falling right across Brittany's face and highlighting the beauty of the girl beside her.

Her hair was splayed across the pillow, a waterfall of golden curls that had that animalistic smell of sex clinging to them. Her face still held the small shadow of ecstasy on it; her mouth curled into a small smile, her breathing still more of a pant through swollen, pouty lips, and her eyes, _dear Lord her eyes,_ shone with so much love it actually left the Latina breathless. She remembered how Brittany had looked at her that night, as if the world simply revolved around her, and to this day she couldn't stop the rush of emotions it sent through her.

She didn't realize she was crying until she felt a soft thumb caress her face, trying to stop the flow of tears that were relentless. She wasn't exactly sure what had triggered it, but this was it. This was every ounce of fear and love and anger and hurt all thrown into one pot, mixed together with the old memories she had stirred up, and overflowing from her already clusterfucked mind.

She couldn't stop herself when she reached for the blonde, wrapping both of her hands around one of Brittany's and holding it between them. She held on for dear life, afraid that she would lose her tether to the Earth if she did; afraid she would lose _her_ if she did. She could see the alarm in Brittany's eyes, the confusion, and it only made her cry harder.

_I'm being so weak right now…_ she blubbered to herself, not daring to open her mouth, afraid of what would come spilling out, _I can't even be mad at her, I can't even hate her, and I want to, I want to hate her so bad…_

These thoughts were only causing her body to be racked with more sobs and she realized that this was the first time she'd cried over the blonde in a long time and at the same time, she knew it was much needed. She needed this release, because without it, she might never make it through the night. She needed to feel all of this, because this was healing, and for the sake of her humanity, she needed to heal.

She thought she had been fixed, she thought she had stitched her heart back together fairly nicely; there were a few scars where she had botched the job, but she thought it was still intact. But to her surprise, she realized that there was only one person who could truly fix her, one person who could make her heart feel completely whole again, and that person was lying across from her.

* * *

><p>Brittany wasn't sure what to do, but her instinct to protect Santana over rode her mind, and she reached for the brunette. She wrapped her arms around the shaking frame of her best friend and pulled her as close to her as she could. She locked her arms around Santana's back and hung on to her as if her life depended on it; because in all honesty, her life did kind of depend on it.<p>

She knew that she wasn't really living when she was in New York; existing, or just getting by, that's what she had been doing. But this, having her arms wrapped tight around this person, this felt like living. Regardless of the fact that there was still so much pain and hurt radiating off of them, and the tension in the air could be cut with a knife, she still felt more alive in this moment than she had in years.

"Shhh…" she cooed into the girls' ear, hoping to calm her down, "It's ok San… I'm here… and I'm sorry." She stopped for a moment, unsure if this was the right time, but after thinking it through, she realized there was never a right time. There was never a right time to apologize for ten years of absolute and utter heartbreak that she had caused Santana. So with her arms still wrapped around the girl she loved, she let it all out in a voice so small, you could still hear a pin drop.

"I'm so so sorry for leaving you. I will never ever forgive myself for doing that, for leaving and not giving you a reason, for leaving and not waking you up and begging you to beg me to stay."

She felt Santana's arms slipping around her, and the first of her tears fell into brown hair.

"I'm sorry for not calling, or writing, or just showing up and telling you all this. I tried, I tried so so hard, but every time I got to the point of calling you or coming home, I would back out." She was a sobbing mess at this point, clinging to the back of Santana's shirt, "I was terrified that you hated me and that you wouldn't want me back, and I thought that that would hurt worse than anything else… and I'm sorry…. I'm just so sorry…"

She trailed off, unable to continue as her tears continued to fall and the lump in her throat stopped anymore words from spilling through her lips. She didn't realize that she was no longer the one doing the comforting; it was Santana who now had a death grip on Brittany's shirt, holding her in place, keeping her tied to the earth. It was Santana who was now whispering in her ear, telling her she could never hate her and that, even though she doesn't fully understand, she was willing to try.

Finally both girls seemed to calm down, but neither was going to let go first. So they stayed there, holding onto the one thing they weren't willing to let go of, and began to fall asleep. Brittany was the first to drift off, her grip on Santana's shirt loosening, but her arms stayed draped around the woman's body.

After a few minutes of listening to Brittany's breathing even out, Santana finally pulled away a little to look at the face across from her, light from the street lamp spilling onto her pillow. She looked peaceful. Since Brittany had walked into the gym, her face had held a tension in it, causing it to look tired and weary, but here, with her blonde hair disheveled and going every which way, she looked like her old self again.

She looked just as beautiful as the last time Santana had seen her in her bed, in the same position, a little over ten years ago. Santana couldn't help but ponder on those last few days she had spent with Brittany before she abruptly left her. Brittany stayed the night the night before they graduated, but she had seemed distant, something that Santana had blamed on nerves at the time but knew better now. The following day they threw their caps and tassels into the air and celebrated with the rest of their friends. They took a million pictures together, their families smiling at them sincerely when Brittany laid a wet kiss to Santana's lips during one of the shots.

They went to lunch together, both their families piling into several booths at Breadsticks and just enjoying the company of one another and toasting to the two girls' who had just finished high school. They went their separate ways after lunch to prepare for their joint graduation party that was being held along with Quinn, at Q's house that afternoon.

The party had gone off without a hitch, all of their friends and family gathering and partying until the early evening. She remembered clearly when the Pierce's were about to leave. Britt's mom had come up and gave her a hug that felt so warm, but also so desperate, almost as if she would never see the girl again. She remembers pulling out of the hug and B's mom placing a hand on her cheek and telling her congratulations before looking away with tears in her eyes. After hearing Britt's side of everything tonight, she knew that Mrs. Pierce knew what was coming, and this explained the tears.

Santana remembers the way Brittany said goodbye to her that evening, her eyes guarded and her entire body seeming distant. She remembers pulling the blonde to the side of Quinn's house and wrapping herself around her, pulling her into a deep kiss that caused them both the moan into each other's mouth. She remembers that Brittany seemed so torn when Santana asked her to stay the night so they could continue their celebration and the way Britt shook her head no, saying she was exhausted after the last two weeks of cramming for finals.

She remembers how she was standing on the front porch at Quinn's, holding both of Brittany's hands and telling her goodnight before giving her a chaste kiss. She thought about how Brittany started to walk down the stairs toward her parent's car before running back and kissing her so hard and so deep, it had made her knees go weak. And the last thing she remembers seeing was the way Brittany whispered 'I love you' and holding onto her hand as long as she could as she walked down the path to the street, only letting go when they were an arm's length away. She watched her climb into the back seat with her little sister and how she didn't look out the window to smile and wave like she normally did.

Santana remembers that day well; it was the last happy one she had had in a very long time.

She was pulled from the past when she heard Brittany whimper in her sleep, something she had done since they were kids. She talked in her sleep all the time, and she wondered what would come out of the blonde's mouth tonight, and she wondered if she ever dreamt about her the way Santana dreamt about the blonde. Her questions were answered only a few moments later when Brittany began to mumble.

"San…" Santana felt her whole body stiffen when her name came through those lips, and even though Britt was saying it unconsciously, the _way_ she said it made Santana want to cry again. It seemed so sad, but before she could ponder what else the blonde was dreaming about, she began to speak again, and this time, it was something Santana had wanted to hear for years.

"San… I love you…"

Hearing those words delivered in that particular voice was enough to break her. She began to silently cry again as she pushed a lock of hair out of Brittany's face. She laid her hand on Britt's cheek and relished in the way their skin looked together; creamy white and smooth caramel, a sight that didn't help stop the flow of tears that were now hitting her already damp pillow. She forgot how much she loved that look of their skin next to one another and it caused her to inch forward and press her body completely against Brittany's.

She could feel the blonde's breath on her face and she let it wash over her, placing her face so close that their noses brushed against one another's. She inhaled deeply, thinking she had never seen or smelled or heard anything more beautiful than the way Brittany sounded when she breathed in and out… in and out…

She couldn't help it when she tentatively leaned in and placed a small kiss to Brittany's lips; something she had wanted to do since the moment she saw her. It sent a shock through her body, and even though the blonde hadn't returned the kiss, she still felt at peace with the beauty of it all. She nuzzled back down next to the Brittany, wrapping her arms around her again and mumbling against the pillow, wishing the girl across from her was awake to hear her next words.

"I've missed you so much B…" she whispered, tracing patterns on the blonde's back. "Every day I prayed you'd come find me. Everyday I'd wake up and check my phone… did you know I didn't change my number for ten years because I didn't want you to try and call and have someone else answer? You always made me do and say things that others couldn't… like right now… I'm sitting here talking to you while you sleep, wishing you could hear this. Wishing you knew how much I mean it when I say I could never hate you, I could never be mad at you… I wanted to, for so long, I wanted to hate you, but it just wasn't possible. And I wish you were awake right now and I wish I had the guts to tell you this to your face…"

She trailed off, wondering to herself if she had completely lost her mind, but when she looked down and saw the human version of an angel sleeping right next to her, she found the strength to say those little words…

"I love you too B… always… I've always loved you."

She placed a final kiss to the blonde's forehead before rolling over, afraid that if she clung to her, they'd wake up in the same position, and she didn't need that type of awkwardness after a night full of those moments. She let out another breath before it evened out and sleep overtook her body.

On the other side of the bed, a beautiful blonde opened her eyes and stared at the back of Santana's head, silent tears weaving tracks down her face as she placed a finger to her lips, remembering the slight pressure that had been pressed to them only moments earlier.

She had been awake.

She had heard every word.

* * *

><p><strong>I hope you fools are happy! ;) I couldn't help myself… I know it was kind of angsty, but I hope the ending was satisfactory for you all. <strong>

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter because I enjoyed writing it! Review my loves! It makes me a happy writer…**

**Until the next chapter!**

**xoxo-Kat**


	6. Chapter 6, Falling Slowly

**Sorry for such a long wait, I was in L.A. for 2 weeks and didn't have a free moment to even begin writing! Anywho, thanks to all that have read and reviewed so far and thanks for sticking with me! Oh, and guess what, Glee is SO close, I can almost taste it!**

**It starts slow… forgive me, but I have too many ideas whipping around in my head…**

* * *

><p><strong>Reunion<br>Chapter 6  
>Falling Slowly<strong>

Brittany pulled up outside the Fabray residence and honked the horn, signaling she was there and returning the car Quinn had let her borrow. She tried to overlook the blatant sneer Q was giving her whenever she got out of the car in a pair of Cheerio sweats and a hoodie, and instead thanked her for letting her have the car last night.

Brittany's parents only lived a block over, so with her dress from the previous night slung over her shoulder and Quinn's threat of expecting an explanation later ringing in her ear, she made the short walk home.

She wasn't sure what she was going to tell Quinn, because she honestly didn't know what to think about anything either. Last night had been, for lack of a better word, insane, and she wasn't sure where she and Santana stood with one another at the moment. The whispered confession of love still lingered in her mind as she rounded the corner…

"_I love you too B… always… I've always loved you."_

She wasn't meant to hear it, and she knew San would be embarrassed if she found out, but for Brittany, it was a life saver. It gave her a reason to fight even harder for what she wanted, but she knew it wasn't going to be easy. The simple fact that Santana's words were spoken under the cover of sleep and darkness proved that and she knew that to get back into the brunette's good graces wasn't going to be a simple task.

As she began planning her next move, she also began thinking over the morning she had had.

* * *

><p>She woke up first, per usual with her and Santana, and realized she was wrapped around the smaller girl. Santana fit perfectly into the curve of Brittany's body, nestled into the crook of the dancers hips while lithe arms wrapped neatly around her small waist. Black hair was directly in front of her and a small breath through her noise sent a shudder through her body, relishing in the smell of the girl in her arms.<p>

Brittany didn't want to move, but she also knew she still had Q's car and she still needed to see her family some before the next part of the reunion weekend. Slowly she started to extract herself from the bed, being sure not to disrupt Santana and knowing she had succeeded when the brunette didn't wake up. She watched as San unconsciously rolled over and grabbed Brittany's pillow and wrapped both her arms and legs around it, burying her face into the fabric. It was something she had always done when they were younger and it caused a smile to spread across pale features when it was done again.

She covered Santana up with another blanket now that the bed would be colder, grabbed a pair of sweats and hoodie, and made her way out the door. She almost made it out of the house before realizing her false step; she hit the bottom stair and it creaked ever so slightly, alerting the woman in the kitchen that someone was stirring in her home. Brittany cursed under her breath for forgetting that damn stair that she and Santana would skip over when sneaking in or out of the house, and couldn't help but grimace a little when Annette called out to her from the hallway, "Leaving so soon?"

Brittany turned around and wasn't prepared to see the tender look she was receiving from the elder Lopez woman. Brittany had always loved Santana's parents, but most specifically her mom. She had been so understanding of their relationship and had never challenged either of them for an explanation as to why they loved each other. She just let them be and Brittany had always been grateful to have someone like that in her life.

"I still have Quinn's car." She stuttered out, still unsure, even after the friendly encounters the night before, if things were ok between her and her second mother. She watched as Annette just nodded absentmindedly before offering her a cup of coffee, which she gladly took, sipping slowly at the counter while Annette did random things around the kitchen.

She wanted to leave, but she could tell that Annette had something to say, so she waited until the woman was ready to talk. Finally the brunette took a deep breath and faced Brittany, a very torn expression on her face as she took in the girl before her. It was one that wore many emotions: tender and motherly but also distrustful and almost angry. These were not something Britt expected and if she were standing, she would have immediately taken a step back, but the bar stool she sat in kept her firmly in place.

Annette threw down the dish rag and leaned her back against the adjacent counter, letting out a huge breath when she finally asked her question, "What are your plans for my daughter Brittany?"

It wasn't what Brittany had expected to hear but she should have known it would come. Mom #2 had always been super protective over both her and San, but Santana was her baby, her flesh and blood, and Britt knew that at this moment, she was just another girl who broke her baby's heart. She didn't know how to answer, so she said as much.

"I really don't know." Brittany said, hands wrapped firmly around the quickly cooling coffee mug, trying to distract herself from her own cluelessness about the situation. "All I know is that I want to be with her."

She looked up in time to see San's mom take another deep breath, this time letting out a little laugh at the end. "You know, when I first met you, you waltzed right up to me, a gangly little 5 year old, introduced yourself and said, 'I'm going to marry Santana one day', shook my hand, and ran back to the swings."

Brittany couldn't help but blush at the faint memory of that day and how innocent it all was back then.

"Then, when you were 13, I heard you and San talking about kissing each other, and I must say, I was a little mortified to know that you both were experimenting like that. But, when you were 16 and I found out you were having sex," She paused when she saw Brittany tense up a little, "Oh yes, I heard you girls loud and clear, I decided that if anyone was sleeping with my daughter, I'd want it to be someone who loved her as much as you did; not some hormonal teenage boy."

She paused again, letting Britt soak up all of this new information. "But then, when you were both 17, you waltzed back up to me again, shook my hand and said-"

"I love your daughter more than anyone in the world and I want to be with her forever." Brittany finished somberly, realizing now where this conversation was headed when Annette nodded slightly.

"You told me that you wanted to be with her forever, and then a year later, you left. You left and you broke her," Brittany winced at the choice of words, "and I'm not going to spare your feelings because I know you're old enough now to handle what I'm about to say."

She paused for a moment, hoping to have Britt's full attention for her next words.

"If you want her, she's yours to have. She always has been and you know that. You both belong with one another; it's pretty much a proven fact. But if you're not in this 100%, if you aren't going to fight for her and keep her for forever like you said you would, then leave now, and don't come back. Don't string her along-"

"I won't-"

"Ah ah, I'm not finished. Don't string her along because you and I both know that you have that type of power over her. If you aren't willing to make sacrifices in your own life, because a long distance relationship will not be enough for Santana, then I suggest you make that clear, and soon. Don't break my baby's heart again, I don't think she could survive it another time."

And with that, Annette leaned over and gave her a peck on the cheek, and then headed down to the laundry room, leaving Brittany alone with her thoughts.

* * *

><p>The blonde didn't realize she was standing on her front porch until she heard the door open and her dad ask her what she was doing. She wasn't about to give him the details, instead she went up to her room, showering and then pulling on Santana's clothes once again. She laid on her bed for awhile, already noticing that empty feeling creeping in whenever she was alone. One night of having Santana next to her while she slept was enough to make her realize that she never wanted to sleep in an empty bed ever again.<p>

* * *

><p>"…<em>And now for a three-in-a-row flashback! This one all the way back from 1999, it's Brittany Spears' Oops I did it again! On Hot96… oh baby Baby…'<em>

WHACK!

Santana rolled over, groaning a little at the alarm clock that she didn't remember even setting. She stared at the clock for a long time, trying to get her sleepy thoughts to clear up before thinking any further. Once she remembered how her night had gone, she rolled over to find the bed empty. She was a little disappointed until she found a post it note stuck to her lamp, a familiar handwriting scrawled across the small square.

_Thanks for letting me stay. I'll see you in a few hours.  
>xoxo-B<br>p.s. I set your alarm so you wouldn't miss the picnic_

She couldn't help but smile when she read it, but there was still that nagging in her chest when the thought of Brittany crept into her mind. She had trained herself to not think about the girl, to not daydream about the day they'd see each other again, but now here she was, having fucking sleepovers with her again as if nothing had changed. As if Britt hadn't up and left her in a weepy mess, a complete basket case that took years of alcohol and random women to bring her back from.

Santana realized it was way too early to be thinking about this stuff and made a mental agreement with herself to not dwell on anything else until she had at least two cups of coffee and a very hot shower.

By the time the afternoon rolled around, Santana still hadn't fully addressed the situation she was in. She had gone through her entire routine of getting ready without once thinking about what she was going to do about Brittany. She knew a few things, but there were so many negatives clawing at her, they seemed to override the positives.

One. She knew Brittany was sorry for leaving; she had apologized profusely for it last night.

Two. She knew Brittany had made the attempt to see her even after she had left the school. Aka, she wanted to fix things.

Three. Brittany had been a kid when she had made the decision to leave; they were adults now and it should be handled that way.

And Four. Brittany loved her. Santana wasn't fooling herself into thinking this; oh no, she knew for a fact that Brittany still loved her with every ounce of her being, she didn't need the blonde to say it to know that.

But still the creeping doubt. She had almost made it to the park without thinking about the doubt, but it made its way into her mind and rooted itself amongst all of the other thoughts.

_What if she leaves again?_

_How would it even work, we live in totally different parts of the country?_

_Does she really want to be with me or did she just want to apologize and move on?_

These were the questions that kept Santana from getting out of the car and joining the rest of her class mates down by the lake. These were the thoughts that made her reach into her center console and pull out a tarnished silver bracelet and run it through her fingers as if they were prayer beads. And it was these thoughts that kept her from noticing a blonde woman standing mere inches from her driver side door.

"Holy Shit!" Santana yelled out the open window while jumping half way out of her skin, "God damn it Q, you made me spill my fucking coffee!" She jumped from the car, tossing the bracelet into the passenger seat and grabbing some napkins to try and stop the dark liquid from spreading any further on her jean shorts.

"Somebody's a little jumpy this morning." Quinn said in a sing-song voice, eyeing the Latina suspiciously while Santana decided her shorts were now a lost cause.

"Yea well, I didn't get much sleep last night." She looked up and caught the look she was getting and realized she could have phrased that a little differently. "Oh no, don't look at me like that. We didn't do shit so stop assuming."

She wasn't in the mood for Quinn's attitude this early in the day and she wanted to nip any assumptions in the butt before they got the picnic started, and at the blonde's silent request for more information, Santana decided to spill.

"She stayed over last night because I asked her to, that's all. It was late and I didn't want her driving home." She could tell Quinn wasn't buying it, so she gave her the details she wanted. "She apologized for everything, we cried a whole bunch, we even hugged at one point, but that's it. Nothing went further than just recapping our lives to each other and basically becoming a bunch of pussy's because neither of us could keep it together for too long before one of us said something to make the other cry. Oh please, stop with the looks, I would never intentionally make her cry and you know it."

Quinn did know that, but she wanted the details. Were they going to try again? Were they officially done or were they officially together? Is Santana ready to try again? Is Brittany? All of these thoughts were swirling in her mind and she wanted to ask Santana, but she was cut off when Brittany waved at them from the edge of the lake.

"Guess that's our cue." Santana said, a frown pulling at the edges of her lips. To say she wasn't very happy right now was an understatement. She was still so confused as to how she felt about Brittany. Of course she loved her, but was she ready to try again? Was she really that willing to give up her heart to the one person who smashed it to pieces once before? She decided that for now, she was going to stay neutral and just see where the afternoon took her.

* * *

><p>By the time everyone arrived, the party was in full swing. Everyone had brought food and alcohol to share, but Santana was too queasy to even think of taking a sip of the rum and coke in her hand. She had thoroughly ignored pretty much everyone, especially Brittany, for the better part of the afternoon, and didn't want to break her bitch streak now. So instead, she stood on the dock overlooking the lake, enjoying the peace and quiet and even the sounds of laughter that were floating her way occasionally.<p>

She was almost at ease when she heard an assertive stride clicking across the deck towards her. She knew who is was before they even spoke and her annoyance level shot through the roof in a little under a tenth of a second.

"Not now Berry." She said while still maintaining her place at the rail.

Rachel had been watching Santana for the better part of an hour and decided to come and check on the girl. They hadn't been friends in high school, but they learned to respect each other and she felt, as the organizer of this reunion, that it was her job to ensure everyone was having a good time. And when she noticed the Latina hadn't taken one bite of food or a sip of her drink, she knew it was time to take action.

"I was just bringing you a bottle of water considering you've been nursing that drink for about three hours." She said, holding out the bottle of water to Santana who looked at it for a moment before taking the offer.

"Thanks." San replied, hoping Rachel would be done with her and leave her in peace again. She was starting to sort things out; the lake and the quacking of the ducks helped her clear her mind, and she felt like she was getting closer to a decision on what she wanted to do about Brittany.

It hadn't really dawned on her that they hadn't had that talk yet until about twenty minutes ago. She realized she had been freaking out about something that hadn't even been discussed. Neither girl had said that they wanted to get back together and until that talk occurred, Santana decided that she was just going to see where the weekend went. Now all she needed to do was get up the courage to ask Brittany where she wanted this to go.

She was still scared shitless to get back together with Britt, but there was something running a lot deeper in her chest than fear, and she had recognized it when she first laid eyes on the blonde the night before.

It was love.

It was those butterflies in your stomach, ache in your chest, lump in your throat, make you want to cry because you're so in love type of love. She wanted Brittany back, she wanted to kiss her with a reckless abandon that she hadn't felt since her senior year of high school. She wanted to touch every inch of the blonde and re-memorize every contour of her body. She wanted to see that little freckle that sat perfectly on the dancers' hip bone that she kissed every time they made love. She wants it all… but first, she needed to face her fears and doubts head on, and the only way to do that was to talk to Brittany again.

"You sure are thinking hard about something." Rachel commented, who had sat back and watched all the thoughts flit across Santana's face. She knew that look; it was that dreamy goofy face the girl did when she was talking or thinking about a certain blonde, and Rachel knew this was her chance to put in her two cents.

"Once she got the invitation, she cried for two days straight." This was news to Santana; something she hadn't heard from the blonde during their re-hashing the night before.

"We had to bring in an understudy to dance for her because she refused to leave her apartment. She was so scared to come back here, to face all of this… to face you. She knows what she did was wrong and stupid but," She paused and rested her hand on Santana's forearm, "give her a chance. She's changed a lot over the years, but the Brittany that loved you, and that you loved, is still in there."

Rachel figured this was enough to say; get Santana really thinking about everything but don't overdo it. She was turning to walk away when she felt a hand on her wrist. She turned around, almost expecting a very pissed off Latina, instead she got one very serious question from the other brunette.

"Is it worth it?"

She smiled a little before patting the girls' hand and responding in a tender tone.

"It's love Santana… it's always worth it."

* * *

><p>Brittany was a mess. Granted, she has been dancing for years, and she was a decent actor, so hiding how she was feeling was easy, but inside, she was losing it. Santana had yet to speak to her today and she couldn't help but wonder, regardless of their love for each other, if she was too late.<p>

It wasn't helping that Santana had literally gotten a drink and then left to go stand down at the dock for most of the afternoon. She wanted to go talk to her, but by the way the brunette was acting, Britt could tell it was best to just leave her be. So instead, she submersed herself in the lives of those around her; playing catch up with all of her old friends since she didn't get to do that the night before.

Many asked where she had run off to, but most already knew the answer. They were all well aware of the drama that had occurred between Britt and San right after graduation, and most even knew that this was the first time they'd seen each other since, but they still wanted details. Many had watched Santana storm through the gym the night before, a look of pure agony on her face as she said quick goodbyes and headed toward the parking lot. They had seen Brittany rush through the same doors and head toward the parking lot as well; and with those two, it wasn't too hard to put it all together.

Still, it was Puck who brought it up.

"So, what happened with you two last night?" He asked after noticing the way Britt was starring longingly toward the dock, which at that moment was home to Santana and Rachel. She had seen the small interaction between the two and wanted desperately to corner Rach and ask, but Puck's question brought her up short. She then noticed about five sets of eyes on her and figured she could give them something so she could break away and find Rachel who was no longer by the water.

"We talked… nothing too serious. Just catching up after not seeing each other for awhile." She said absentmindedly, still trying to find Rachel in the throng of classmates.

She heard Puck snort and brought her attention back to him as he rolled his eyes and ran a hand through his hair, which thankfully, was no longer sporting a Mohawk.

"Please. You two never 'just talk'; I was witness to that plenty of times." He said with a shit eating grin that made her stomach hurt a little. It was true. He had seen them make out and even go a little further when they were both just friends with benefits, and the thought that he still remembered those little moments made her squirm even more.

"It's none of your business Noah."

_Thank god for Rachel..._ Brittany thought as she lunged toward the brunette and pulled her toward the snack table. She didn't want to come across desperate, but at this point, she kind of was. She needed to know what was going on and even though she hated to admit it, she was a little bit of a coward when it came to approaching Santana.

"What'd she say?" Brittany immediately asked, causing Rachel to give her an incredibly hilarious face while popping a grape into her mouth. "No really Rach, I need to know."

Rachel couldn't believe that these two of _all_ people were now using her as a middle man for their conversations. They never did it when they were in high school and she refused to let them do it now; so instead, she gave the only advice she could without breaking confidence with Santana.

"Oh this is getting out of hand! Just go talk to her B!" She grabbed Brittany by the arm and swung her around, pushing her toward the dock and shooing her away with her hands. Brittany knew it was now or never as she made her way down to the lake.

There were several things that needed to be talked about, and as she walked toward the dock, she counted them out in her head.

_One. I'm leaving in a few days to go back to New York. I need to find out when she's going back to Indy._

She couldn't even think of anything else as the reality of her situation finally reached her. She was leaving soon. So was Santana. They would be hours apart within a matter of a few days and nothing would change that. It made her second guess why she was here and why she was doing this. She knew she wanted Santana more than anything in the world, but what if the other girl didn't feel the same? What if she went through all of this and all she got was a 'let's just be friends' response?

It made her heart hammer in her chest, but there was something else there too. A different type of hammering that she got when she thought about the brunette and this was the feeling that kept her legs moving. She knew what she wanted; now she just needed to reach out and grab it.

* * *

><p>Santana heard the way the footsteps hit the dock and knew that it could only be one person. <em>Too graceful to be anyone else…<em> She prepared herself for whatever was about to happen, taking a deep breath and catching a faint whiff of coconut and vanilla that sent a calming vibe through her body. She glanced to her right in time to see Britt walk up next to her and lean against the rail, neither making eye contact as the blonde tilted her head up toward the setting sun, letting the last few rays warm her face and neck.

_Jesus, she's so beautiful…_ Santana thought as she watched the blonde who still had her eyes closed, a small smile playing on her face.

"I've always loved this lake…" she finally said, opening her eyes and glancing around the edges of the water and smiling when a duck quacked in their direction. Santana knew this wasn't what either of them wanted to talk about, but for the time being, a little light chatter was needed to calm the tension that was clearly still lingering between them.

"I remember the first time you brought me here. It was the day your parents gave you your mustang…" Brittany was in the mood to reminisce, and this spot had so many memories. "You picked me up and we came here because you said you wanted to explain the difference between a ballad and a mallard after I got them confused in Glee club."

Santana couldn't help but laugh at the memory; it seemed so long ago that she was doing those things for Brittany. Explaining something that the blonde had gotten confused with or walking her to class or showing her how to kiss… _ stop right there. _She didn't want to think about the times when the lines of their friendship began to blur, because that would lead to the inevitable conversation they were about to have, and she didn't want that just yet.

"You almost fell into the lake…" She whispered to the blonde, trying not to disturb the small amount of calm, "and you tried to steal a baby duck because it was black and all of the others were yellow and you said it was feeling left out." Santana chuckled again, unable to stop the smile that spread across her face when she glanced and saw that Brittany too had a wide, toothy grin plastered on her features.

She sighed a little when the conversation once again died off; _it's now or never._ She thought as she turned to face Britt, who turned to face her at the same time.

"I just-"

"I wanted-"

Both women blushed when they both started speaking at the same time. Neither seemed to want to continue, so Santana decided it was her turn to step up to the plate and ask some of her own questions.

"When are you flying back?" Not the question she wanted to ask, but it was a fine detail she wanted to know the answer to.

"Day after tomorrow…" Britt replied, chancing a glance at her best friend who resembled a wounded puppy at that moment.

"So soon…" Santana breathed out, feeling like her chest was constricting, making it hard to breathe back in. She didn't know what she thought she'd hear, but she was hoping to maybe have a few extra days to figure this out, but time was not on their side.

"I have to get back to work…" she hated saying the words, but Brittany knew she needed to be as honest as possible if anything was going to get better. "I barely got this weekend off… I practically had to beg but then I threatened to quit and that seemed to work, because well, here I am!"

San laughed a little at the blonde's explanation, but it still didn't help the thoughts that were coursing through her brain about how they weren't going to have enough time to sort everything out and how this was a lost cause and-

She felt the finger on her chin and opened her eyes to find Brittany staring intently back at her, blue eyes flickering back and forth between brown.

"Stop thinking so much." Brittany said before releasing Santana's face and gazing back over the water. Santana was in a daze; she was crazy enough to think that Britt was going to kiss her and the disappointed feeling told her that she indeed wanted that to happen.

That feeling only fueled her courage to forget about the time and focus on what was important; figuring them out.

"What was the point of all of this Britt?" When B seemed confused as to what she was asking, she continued. "You haven't been to Lima in 10 years, haven't spoken to me since the day of graduation, and then you get this invite and you felt the need to come back here. Why now?"

She wanted to say so much more. She wanted to scream at the top of her lungs all of the questions that were now dying in her throat when she noticed how nervous Britt looked. Instead of bombarding her with questions, she waited until the blonde got her thoughts together.

* * *

><p>Brittany wasn't sure if she could answer those questions without giving herself away completely; but then she remembered who she was talking to and decided to lay out all of her cards. She had been hurting for so long after leaving Santana and right now, the girl with the mocha eyes that made her melt was asking a simple question, <em>why?<em>

"Because I love you."

Simple as that. She couldn't even believe she said it until she watched all of the emotions flitter across Santana's face. Surprise, anxiety, fear, hurt, but also something else, acceptance maybe? Hope? She wasn't sure, and since Santana's silence wasn't helping her out any, she continued.

"I have never stopped loving you." She reached out and grabbed both of Santana's hands, her rib cage home to a thousand butterflies when the brunette didn't pull away. "I've lived ten years without you and it was the worst ten years of my life. I don't want to go another day without you knowing that I would do anything, _anything_ Santana, to change what I did. I had to find you and tell you all of this, because you are it for me. You are the person I think about when I wake up and you are my last thought before I go to sleep. And…"

She was trying so hard to keep her tears in check; she had done enough crying and was desperately trying to hold onto her composure, which was slipping fast.

"And..?" Santana was waiting for the rest, because at the moment, she wasn't sure if she would be able to speak. She was in total shock and she needed Britt to keep talking until she found her voice again; it was also a plus that her heart was swelling and felt like it was going to burst from hearing these words. She wasn't sure what it meant for them, but she knew it was leading them back to where they were supposed to be.

"And, I know it's not going to be easy to just forgive me, but I'll do anything to prove to you that you are what I want. And even if you can't love me anymore, please just let me have my best friend back. Cause when I left I didn't just leave a girlfriend, I left my best friend, and I need her back. Please, if you can't give me everything, please just let me have you back."

Brittany was begging now and she knew she probably looked pathetic, but she had to lay it all out there.

Santana wanted to say a lot of things; 'of course! Of course I want you back!' and 'I love you too! I've always loved you!' and 'Please don't hurt me again; I wouldn't be able to take it.', but instead, she went the safe route. _Better safe than sorry right now… _

"I can do that." Santana said, her voice barely above a whisper as she hooked her pinky around Brittany's. "I can be your friend… your best friend. Because even before all of this, before there was an 'us', we were best friends, and I think that's where we need to start at."

It was more than anything Brittany could have hoped for. Old Santana would have scoffed and maybe even turned her down, but old Santana also couldn't hurt Brittany, no matter how much it hurt herself, and that was obvious at this moment. She couldn't stop herself as she leaned in and gave San a bone crushing hug, hoping to put every feeling she had at that moment into it to show the smaller girl in her arms how grateful she was for a second chance.

"Thank you…" she whispered into her best friend's ear before pulling away and falling into those big brown eyes.

Santana was feeling greedy and pulled the blonde into another hug, standing on tip toes as she whispered into Brittany's ear, "Thank you for coming back."

* * *

><p><strong>I think this fic might be longer than anticipated. <strong>

**xoxo-Kat**


	7. Chapter 7, Make Me Feel Something

**You guys are absolutely amazing! I can't thank you all enough for the reviews and alerts and everything else! Sorry it took foreverrrr to update! I started school last week so I'm struggling to write, work, and study, but I really am trying! I hope you enjoy this chapter, but, I'm sure you'll hate me a little at the end as well. Oh well, let me know what you think! Enjoy! **

* * *

><p><strong>Reunion<br>Chapter 7  
>Make Me Feel Something<strong>

It was 2a.m. and Santana was still awake. The events of the picnic were replaying over and over in her head, keeping her from slipping into the much needed oblivion that sleep would provide. Instead, she was sitting on her bed, digging through the conversation she had with Brittany and wondering where it would lead them.

Friends? Best friends even? Was she capable of being just that with the blonde? Santana wasn't so sure she could, but she knew what she had agreed to on the dock, and for now, that's how it would stay. She wanted Brittany back in her life, of that she was sure, but she still didn't feel that 'being friends' would be enough for her. She had always loved her, even when she was younger and refused to see it for what it really was. And even now, after all of the heartache and suffering she went through at the hands of Brittany, she still didn't love her any less than she did the day they graduated from McKinley.

But did she trust her? She wasn't so sure on that point. You could love someone until your heart bled, but to trust them, after shattering you, was another thing entirely.

_I trust her, but I don't…_

_That doesn't even make sense Santana? You either do or you don't!_

Santana was rolling the words around in her mind, trying to explain it to herself in a way that would help her heart and head get on the same page.

On one hand, her heart was saying 'protect me, but go for it. You deserve to be happy'. But her head was telling her heart to shut its damn mouth and run back to Indianapolis before the beautiful blonde could hurt them again. And this is where the rift between her heart and head sat; on one side, she wanted to be happy, on the other, the thought of Brittany leaving her again, which wasn't something she thought she could survive a second time. She needed to analyze and analyze until she found a solution, and she knew it wasn't going to happen tonight.

She glanced at the clock and realized it was much later than she ever wanted to be up, but her nerves felt so tight, too high strung to get any sleep, so she began to think about how the rest of the afternoon had went at the picnic.

San, Britt, and Quinn had decided to do lunch on Sunday afternoon since both blondes were flying out on Monday morning to head back to New York. That had been a particularly tough conversation for the Latina to listen to; to know for sure that she would again be losing Britt in a matter of days. She tried to tell herself that it would be different this time, that they would keep in touch, but it didn't make it hurt any less.

Brittany must have sensed the hurt coming off of Santana, because she had gently gave their interlocked pinkies a quick squeeze, hoping it was enough to calm the brunette down. It worked, but not as well as Brittany would have liked, and in a bold move, she wrapped her hand firmly around Santana's. San had tried to pull away, tried to put a little distance between herself and the blonde, but Brittany held on tight, refusing to let go until Santana relaxed again.

Santana had to smile a little while thinking about that moment; how Britt knew she was starting to freak out a little and how just the squeeze of her hand could plant her feet back on solid ground. It was moments like that that had made Santana fall in love with B in the first place, and being so boldly reminded of that wasn't helping her internal struggle of 'friend zoning' herself and her blonde counterpart.

She let out a huff as the realization hit her. She still loved that damn girl and there was nothing that would change that. She also knew that Britt loved her too and if Santana gave the word, they'd get back together. They'd fall right back into step as if no time had gone by and they'd figure out the distance thing as well.

_She'd be so far away…_ Santana thought as she flopped all the way back onto her bed, hoping to possibly drown in the sea of pillows her mom decorated her bedroom with. She was getting so frustrated that she started grabbing them and just chucked them across the room, hoping not to wake her parents but enjoying the act of taking out her frustrations on something.

There was still so much to figure out; distance, her trust issues with Brittany… and… _well? What else? Oh that's right, there isn't anything else you dumb ass! _

Another realization. Another huff. Another pillow flying across the room.

She had no solid reasons, except for the two, to not get back together with Brittany. Granted, loyalty and trust are huge things to Santana, but this was Brittany she was talking about. The girl who stood by her side in high school when a lot of people couldn't stand her, the girl who told her she loved her and that she was perfect every time she felt like a terrible person. And the girl who held her hand when she finally came out during senior year and who didn't let go when the slushies and insults flew through the hallways.

_This is my Britt-Britt…_ she thought as she climbed into bed, a calming feeling settling into her mind after she realized that this didn't have to be so hard. It didn't have to be life or death, it just had to be. They existed solely for one another, and no time or distance or hesitations could stop fate, and Santana knew that one way or another, fate would help them find each other again.

Just as she clicked off the light and climbed under the covers, she heard her phone vibrate on the night stand. She reached over, and for some reason she just knew who it was. As she lit up her screen, a small message box came across it and a smile spread across her face, and she knew that fate had it figured out a long time ago.

_I've missed you more than you'll ever know. Sweet dreams San.. xoxo-B_

* * *

><p>The sound of Quinn's car outside alerted Brittany that she was indeed running extremely late for lunch. She had been starring in the mirror for well over twenty minutes, just thinking about everything. Literally. She couldn't stop the millions of thoughts that had been flying through her head from the time she had left the picnic yesterday until this very moment.<p>

She had barely slept last night, mostly because she was starring at the screen of her cell phone debating whether or not to text Santana. She wanted to go over to her house and hang out, just enjoy each other's company as much as possible, but she knew she needed to give the brunette her space. So instead, she settled on a late night text that received an immediate response.

_I've missed you too B… so much. I'll see you tomorrow. G'nite -S_

She had stayed awake almost all night re-reading the message, just relishing in the fact that she and Santana were on speaking terms again. She was still freaking out about the fact that she was leaving in the morning and they still hadn't come to any full reconciliation, but she had to stay positive. She had to think long term and stop dwelling on the present situation, because the present was still fickle and unclear.

She knew that since her and Santana were reintroduced, they wouldn't fall apart again. Both knew they'd work hard to stay in touch, but Britt wanted so much more than that. Yea, she knew it would be hard, but she wanted to be with her. She wanted to call her and tell her she loved her just because she could. She wanted to fly to Indianapolis and only be able to stay for a couple of days but know that those couple of days would be the best two of her week. She wanted to be wrapped up in warm covers, Santana asleep on her chest, neither leaving the safety of their bedroom for the entire weekend.

These were the things Brittany wanted, but the threat of Santana's mother was still ringing in her head. _"Santana won't be able to do long distance…" _and Britt knew she was right. Santana wouldn't be able to handle being away from each other; only seeing each other when one could afford to fly to see the other.

It would be hard.

_But it would be worth it._

Brittany was sure of it. And even with all of the questions in her head, she grabbed her purse and headed for the door, smiling at her mom before slipping out into the summer afternoon. She practically skipped to Quinn's car, earning a small smile from the blonde behind the wheel as well as an eye roll, before they pulled off and headed to the restaurant.

"What are you so happy about?" Quinn asked, a teasing tone to her voice as they pulled up to a red light. She could tell that something had her best friend in a good mood and she was curious to know if it had to do with their number three that they were about to have lunch with.

"I don't know, I'm just happy." Brittany responded, staring out as downtown Lima slipped by her window. And it was true, she _was_ happy. She hadn't felt this great in a long time, and finally understanding that she would go to hell and back to get Santana made her chest flutter and put her stomach in knots (the good kind).

She could tell that Quinn wanted to know more, but she also knew that Quinn wouldn't ask. The other blonde in the car knew when to press Britt for information and when not to, and right now, she could tell the last thing B wanted was to be nagged at. So instead, she did what they used to do: crank up the car stereo, roll down the windows, and just drive.

Brittany had to laugh as they pulled up to Breadstix. It was almost too comical to know that even after all of these years, Santana still preferred this place over just about any other restaurant in Lima. To quote her from yesterday, 'That place is still the shit. And you bet your ass I'll have baggies in my purse to snatch some breadsticks for the road!'.

* * *

><p>Santana was already sitting in their regular booth when the two blondes walked in. She watched as both looked around, searching to see if she was there, and just enjoying the moment of watching Brittany. She watched as she smiled at the hostess and tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. She noticed that both blondes seemed more relaxed about this lunch date then they had been the day before when all three were in a state of jitters just talking about it.<p>

Then their eyes met and something happened. A smile that could put the sun to shame graced that perfect face and Santana knew she was finished. She knew that she couldn't fight this anymore; there was no denying the fact that she was still, 100%, head over heels in love with Brittany S. Pierce. She realized she was smiling back just as wide when she glanced to the left of Britt and saw the smug look on Quinn's face.

They both approached the booth and Britt slid in first, waiting on Quinn to sit next to her. Santana thought this was odd, usually it was Quinn who sat by herself, but she let it slide because she knew that Britt had no idea that she wanted her next to her. Santana wanted to feel the heat coming off her skin and be consumed by the smell of her perfume, but instead she was getting the perfect view of a perfect smile, so she figured it was a win win either way.

It took both girls about thirty seconds of staring at each other to realize that Quinn hadn't gotten into the booth with them. When Santana looked up with a questioning look on her face, Q just laughed and with a quick shrug of her shoulders, offered her only explanation.

"I have a feeling that three will be a crowd." She stated honestly. Quinn didn't care about a lot of things, but the two girls in front of her were very important and held a spot very deep in her heart, and she didn't want to intrude on the possibility of them rekindling not only their friendship, but a relationship as well.

"Don't be stupid Q, sit your ass down." Santana said knowingly. She knew what Quinn was doing and she was grateful for that, but she also hadn't seen her in a long time and wanted to enjoy her company every bit as much as Britts. "Plus since you're the one who came up with the idea, you're paying, so you can't leave." She looked up with a smirk on her face, daring either blonde to protest; when neither did, they waved the server over and ordered.

* * *

><p>"You know, this food isn't as good as I remember it to be." Brittany said over a mouthful of lasagna, "Maybe it's because I've had real Italian in New York, but really San, this place doesn't come close."<p>

Obviously Santana didn't care about how close it was to _real_ Italian, because right now she was devouring her baked ziti, completely ignoring the jab at her favorite restaurant. But she also couldn't help the word vomit that she was prone to have in the presence of a certain blonde.

"Well then maybe I need to come to New York and have some of this real Italian that you speak of."

_And if you could keep your damn mouth shut you wouldn't be blushing like a fool right now!_

She glanced up and noticed the matching smiles that both blonde's were sporting and she didn't miss the glint that passed over Brittany's eyes at the mention of her coming to New York. It was as if she had been thinking it herself, and in the split second their eyes met, Santana felt that bond between them that had felt severed for so long, piece back together. It was their silent conversation bond, the one that drove Quinn absolutely mad and left other people wondering how they knew each other as well as they did. Santana knew what B was thinking, but the blonde voiced it anyway, wanting to be as clear as possible.

"I'd love to take you out to dinner in New York..."

And there it was. The first invitation thrown out for everyone to see; laid out for Santana to take and she could tell that Brittany was going to wait patiently until she did so.

"I think we could work something out." Santana replied, and she heard the double meaning in her words as did the two women across from her. The room was once again lit up by Brittany's smile.

* * *

><p>"Did you fucking hear that?" Brittany yelled right after jumping into Quinn's car. They had just finished lunch and said their goodbyes to Santana, well, Quinn said goodbye to Santana.<p>

Brittany just stared at San for a split second before giving her a hug and unbeknownst to Q, whispered in her ear, "Can I see you again before I leave?" She received a sigh of relief from the brunette and a whispered 'yes' before San pulled out of the hug and climbed into her own car.

"Yes B, I heard her." Quinn replied, trying hard to cover up the huge smile on her own face that her two best friends finally figured their shit out. "And I told you this was a good idea!" Quinn couldn't help but give herself a mental pat on the back because she had said from the very beginning of all this that they would figure it out and that it would just take some time, and right now, she knew she was right.

She could see the way both Brittany and Santana were basically bouncing in their seats the entire lunch, she saw the way they hugged and held on just a little bit longer than usual, and she heard the whispered 'yes' that Santana gave before leaving. She wasn't sure what the question was, but she had a good idea. Of course, she'd never let either of them know that, but it made her heart feel lighter knowing that the two that were supposed to last forever were finally back on track.

Quinn realized she was on autopilot and was already parked in front of Brittany house without realizing it. She heard Brittany tell her she'd see her in the morning for their flight and watched as the blonde bounced toward her house, an obvious spring in her step. She waited by the curb until Britt got inside and let out a sigh of relief. She knew that the coming months were going to be difficult, but she also had a gut feeling that there would be a lot of Santana in her near future.

* * *

><p>Santana still hadn't made it home; instead she was driving the streets of her home town, wasting all of her mom's gas and contemplating when it would be ok to text Britt so they could hang out. And almost like clockwork, her phone was beeping.<p>

_Come over when you can, my mom wants to see you! xoxo-B_

She wasn't going to waste time deciding if she should respond back really fast or wait a couple more songs before doing so; she didn't have time for games anymore.

_Ok if I come over now? I'm still out and about and I don't have anything going on the rest of the day. –S_

She barely put her phone in the cup holder before it went off again.

_Just get here! xoxo-B_

She barked out a laugh at their bantering and couldn't help but punch the gas a little harder when the light turned green, weaving through the back roads until she reached Brittany's parents' house.

When she shut off the engine, she couldn't help but stare at the house in front of her and be flooded with memories. This was the first time she had seen this house since the day after graduation. She had purposefully avoided driving down this road every time she came into town since then; knowing it would only cause her pain. Secretly she had also been avoiding it for another reason; she had been avoiding Marcia Pierce.

The eldest blonde of the household had always been someone she admired, but it was hard to see her without seeing the features shared by her daughter. The long blonde hair, high cheekbones, and exotic looking blue eyes; they all reminded her of the thing that she lost, and she had avoided seeing that for a long time. Occasionally she would be caught by surprise at the grocery store when she was in town randomly, or at some mutual friend's family holiday party, and most of the time it was just plain awkward.

Both would dance around the subject of Brittany, never asking or telling anything until it all became too much and they'd say a quick goodbye, both knowing that the conversation would eventually turn to the one subject neither could discuss.

Santana couldn't help but remember the Christmas after Brittany had left and how she intentionally went to a party with her parents, knowing the Pierce's would be there. When she had arrived, she searched up and down the house, looking for the one person that could take away the throbbing that still had a hold in her chest. She remembers seeing the long blonde hair and pushing through the crowd, spinning the person around, only to have Marcia standing there.

She remembers the shock that registered on Mrs. Pierce's face followed quickly by something else, pity maybe? She was never sure because she turned back around and headed straight for the front door. She had heard Marcia calling for her to come back but she didn't. She just kept on walking until the cold became too much and she went home to cry herself to sleep once more.

_Knock Knock!_

She about jumped out of her seat when she heard the thumping on her window. She didn't even notice when Britt had walked up to her car and apparently the look on her face was pretty priceless because said blonde was now bent over laughing her ass off in the middle of the street. She huffed out a sound of annoyance before swinging her car door open and effectively hitting it against Brittany's ass that was still in the air from laughing. Britt fell to the ground where she continued to laugh and the sound made Santana's heart melt.

She stood in the street, just staring down at her best friend and couldn't help but let out a chuckle before reaching for her hands and hoisting her to her feet. What she didn't realize was how this action would cause them to be nose to nose, their breath mingling with each other's while sporadic laughs still pushed their way out of their mouths.

Santana felt her own breath catch a little when Brittany leaned in a little closer, their noses now touching and neither one of them daring to breathe. She wanted to kiss her. She wanted to kiss her so bad her legs were starting to shake and she thought she was going to pass out. But she took a quick step back and a steadying breath, knowing that right now, in the middle of a street, was not how she wanted that reunion to happen.

She saw the pout that formed on Brittany's lips but pushed it aside when she took in the woman standing on the front porch watching them. It was weird, but now that Britt was standing right in front of her, all animosity for Mrs. Pierce flew out the window. She understood now why Marcia had done what she did, and was only following the requests of her daughter to keep Santana at an arm's length.

She broke into a jog toward the front porch before she even knew what she was doing. She took the stairs two at a time and scooped up Brittany's mom in a tight hug. She felt the woman laugh a little before pulling back to get a good look at her. She looked her over for a quick moment, running a hand through her hair in the most motherly way possible before giving her a small smile.

"Hello Santana..." she said quietly, and that was all that was needed. Santana pulled her into another hug and whispered 'hey mom' into her neck.

* * *

><p>Brittany was standing at the bottom of the stairs watching the moment between her mother and best friend. It was just like old times; this was how the two in front of her would greet each other after only a few days apart and she knew it was a big moment for the both of them. Brittany knew that her mom had always felt guilty for hiding things from Santana, and knowing that she had been the cause of it all made Britt's heart hurt. But seeing this scene unfold in front of her told her that everything was going to be ok.<p>

"Alright you two, break it up, break it up." She chuckled when she saw Santana roll her eyes, but eventually the love fest died down and they all headed inside. They sat in the living room for hours, Santana just filling Marcia in on everything going on in her life and Brittany just smiling as the pieces continued to fall into place.

Marcia invited San for dinner, which she happily agreed to, and the three women set off to the kitchen; Mr. Pierce was out on business, so it was just the three of them for the evening. The conversation stayed relatively light throughout dinner; mostly just questions about Santana's days at Indiana University and her practice in Indianapolis.

Brittany was soaking it in like a sponge; absorbing every bit of information and storing it away. These were the moments she had missed with her best friend and she wanted to be filled in on them all. The small talk died down while they ate and a comfortable silence settled over them. As dinner came to a close, Marcia gave them some news.

"Brittany, I'm going to be at your Aunt Sarah's for the rest of the night, but I'll be home tomorrow before you fly out." She said, watching how comically wide her daughter's eyes seemed to get at this information. She wasn't sure if these two had their act together or not, but she didn't want to be within a 10 mile radius of this place either way.

Marcia grabbed her overnight bag and was heading for the door when she called out to Santana with her arms open wide, requesting a hug goodbye. San smiled a little and walked over to the door, wrapping her arms around someone she didn't realized she had missed terribly until they had been reunited.

"It was good to see you again." San said, the lump in her throat causing her voice to crack a little, something that didn't go un-noticed by the unusually observant women in the room. Marcia pulled back and gave her a stern look before responding,

"I expect to see you again very soon Santana." The way she said it made tingles run up and down Santana's arms; it wasn't a request, it was just a statement of fact, one that Santana hoped with all her heart would be true.

"You two be good and don't stay up too late." The eldest woman said, gaining eye rolls from both girls. "Britt, you have a flight tomorrow, you don't want to oversleep. Goodnight you guys!"

And when the front door closed softly behind her, neither girl was willing to move. It only took each a split second to realize that for the first time in 10 years, they were completely alone with one another.

* * *

><p><strong>TBC<strong>

**xoxo-Kat**


	8. Chapter 8, Bring It Back

**Hey all! So I just wanted to say thank you so much for the reviews, and messages, and alerts, and stuff! You guys are amazing! So, this is the 2****nd**** to last chapter! Um, that's all I got! Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><strong>Reunion<br>Chapter 8  
>Bring it Back<strong>

Santana wasn't sure if she was breathing correctly. Her chest felt tight and her heart was pumping way too fast to be just standing in the Pierce's front foyer. She could feel eyes on the back of her head, obviously Brittany was watching her to see how she was going to react to being alone and she didn't want to have a freaking panic attack because of it.

_Get a fucking GRIP Lopez!_

She thought to herself, and with a little mental check, she took a deep breath and turned around to face her best friend. One look at the blonde told her she was being ridiculous. She was freaking out over nothing. This was her Brittz, the girl she grew up with, the girl she fell in love with, and the girl who could never make her uncomfortable, no matter the situation.

There were a lot of things Santana wanted to do at this moment. She wanted to rush up to the blonde and put a vice like grip on her pale cheeks and pull her into a desperate kiss that would leave them both gasping. She wanted to pull her down onto the kitchen floor and have her way with her.

But after another deep breath, she realized what she really wanted, and if she was reading her correctly, she knew what B wanted too.

"Can we just chill?" Santana asked nonchalantly, heading toward the entertainment center in the living room to find a movie. She didn't want to have any pressure on them to sort through more craziness tonight, she just wanted to enjoy Brittany's company. She didn't know when they'd see each other again after this evening, and she didn't want to ruin even a second of it.

"Only if we get to watch what I wanna watch!" Brittany replied, skipping into the room and practically pushing Santana away from the DVD's and searching the shelves for the movie she wanted. When Santana heard Britt squeal with delight, she was thinking one of two things.

Little Mermaid.

All Dogs Go to Heaven.

She wasn't sure which it was going to be and she really didn't care, but the fact that she remembered both of Britt's favorite movies made her smile a little… the sound of the blonde's laughter helped too.

* * *

><p>Brittany put the DVD in and ran back to the couch, plopping down on the far end and wrapping a blanket around herself. She looked up to notice that Santana still hadn't moved and she could see the brunette's hesitation for joining her. In a bold move, she pulled the blanket back a little and opened up her arms. She waited, reading the reaction in Santana's eyes and praying she wasn't being too forward. She didn't want to cause this to be awkward, but she really did just want to cuddle up on the couch with the girl she loved.<p>

It was something they used to do all the time, even before they dated. They would get home from school and immediately fall onto the couch, usually exhausted from Cheerios practice, and just snuggle until dinner. Neither of them thought it was weird because it felt too natural; Brittany usually laid on her back with San laying next to her, well, halfway on top of her, and they'd just watch T.V. It had always been this way with them, physical contact was a must, and right now, Brittany's mind and body were begging for it.

She watched as Santana slowly made her way over to the couch, sitting down next to Brittany and pulling her legs underneath her body. She leaned to the side a little and her head fell on Britt's shoulder, and for the first time in so long, they both felt at home. They both took a deep breath, inhaling the way their perfumes mixed together and relishing in the sweet new scent it created.

The menu screen on the DVD finally popped up and Brittany noticed how Santana lifted her head off of her shoulder to look at her.

"You still have this?" She asked, glancing back to the screen then back to Britt, both girls sporting a huge grin.

"Hell yes I still have this!" Brittany said, pressing 'play' on the remote as the words 'Glee Club 2009-2012' popped up on the main screen. It was the video that Mr. Schue had made the entire club their senior year with a compilation of all of their competitions on it. He said it was so they could remember everything, but everyone knew it was so they wouldn't forget each other. He had always been so adamant that they kept in touch, and the class knew this was one of the reasons he made it for them.

As Sophomore year Sectionals began on their screen, they were both put into a state of nostalgia. They watched as they danced and sang with everyone, laughing at how young they both looked and how ridiculous their dresses were.

"Jesus," Santana said, "I forgot how good Rachel was." They were watching Rachel's version of 'Don't Rain on My Parade', both in awe of how well the girl put that performance together.

"Yea, we were all freaking out because of Finn finding everything out about Q and Puck and quitting. We thought we were doomed…"

"Holy shit, I forgot all about that!" Santana said, watching as they all took the stage for the group number.

"And we were mad at each other..." Brittany said quietly, and Santana wasn't sure what she was talking about and cocked an eyebrow to tell her to elaborate. "That was the week I told everyone we were sleeping together…" the blonde finished softly, the blush in her cheeks creeping up to her ears.

"Oh yea..." Santana said wistfully, thinking back to that day when she thought her life was over. "We didn't talk the rest of the week, I was so mad."

"I never understood why though, I mean, no one ever said anything about it afterwards…" Brittany said, taking her eyes off the screen to glance at the top of San's head that was back against her shoulder.

"I think that was the day I realized you loved me… It was the first time you ever mentioned dating between us," Santana said quietly, her eyes still on the screen. "And I knew that I was in trouble because we were sleeping together and I didn't want anything more than just sex."

She had to laugh at how vain she had been back then; so afraid of being honest with herself and with those she was closest to. She remembered how terrified she was that things were going to change between them, and now look at them; girlfriend's senior year, only to be torn apart by fear again, and now trying to bring it all back. It was a vicious circle that Santana hoped would end happily.

They watched Regionals in silence, both fuming a little when it was announced that they lost, laughing at how watching these old shows could bring back their competitive nature.

Junior year videos were up next and they both settled further into one another, still loving the contact between them.

"San! This was your first solo!" Brittany exclaimed, sitting up and moving to the edge of the couch to get a better look.

"And your first dance solo." Santana said back, catching the grin that spread across Brittany's face when she said it. "What?" She asked.

"You remembered… that's all…" Brittany replied, turning back to watch the rest of their performance.

They sat there for the rest of the DVD, reliving their glory days of glee club and laughing about how much had changed since then. The laughing subsided as the main menu popped back up on the screen and a comfortable silence settled over the room.

Santana still had her head on Britt's shoulder and the blonde's arms were thrown casually around her. She could feel it every time Brittany had dipped her nose into her hair and inhaled during the movie and she smiled when she felt her do it again. Each time the blonde would tighten her arms around the smaller girls' body for just a moment, a small squeeze, before releasing again.

"I've missed this so much…" Brittany mumbled against her hair, "I've missed everything about this…" And she was inhaling again, this time placing a kiss somewhere in the dark locks, before laying her head back onto Santana's. The brunette turned slightly, allowing her to wrap her arms around Brittany's body, pulling them impossibly close before whispering into the blonde's neck,

"You have no idea B…"

* * *

><p>They sat on the couch for a long time, just wrapped around one another; there were occasional kisses placed on collarbones or foreheads, but it wasn't traveling any further. Even though their relationship used to be extremely physical, it seemed to evolve into something much more, something more mature. Their time away had taught them to be grateful to just be able to hold one another, and both had silently swore they'd never forget that or take it for granted ever again.<p>

Santana felt like she was in a dream like state when she heard the whisper that passed through her hair. She wasn't sure if she had heard correctly, but decided to be more alert and grunted out a 'huh?' so the blonde would repeat herself.

"I said," And Brittany stopped, suddenly losing her nerve that she had gathered while they sat in silence.

Santana pulled away so she could get a better look at Britt's face, wanting to know if what she heard was real or not. She gave the blonde a questioning look, reaching out to tuck a stray piece of blonde hair behind her ear; Brittany brought her own hand up and wrapped it around Santana's, holding their fingers against her own face, trying to draw strength from the touch.

"I said, I need you." Brittany swallowed hard, unable to meet mocha colored eyes when she continued. "I need you like I need to breathe San. I just-"

A finger under her chin brought her gaze up to the girl in front of her. "For the last ten years, I've felt like I've been drowning, barely keeping my head above water, but right now, I don't feel like that. And I know, I know all the way to the tip of my toes that it's because of you. It's always been you, and I need you Santana."

Brown eyes flickered between blue, trying to piece together this information and decide how to proceed; but instead of her mind figuring it out, her body made the decision for her. Santana leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss to Brittany's lips, feeling a spark of electricity shoot through her body at the simplest of contact. She pulled back, her eyes flickering again between Brittany's, watching as the girl reached up and touched her lips as if she had felt the spark too.

They both cracked a small smile at the same time, loving how easy this was becoming. This time, albeit a little timidly, Brittany leaned forward and placed a lingering kiss to Santana's lips, feeling that same spark again, only this time, it caught on fire.

Santana reached up and grasped Brittany's face and pulled her in for a deeper kiss, all the while trying to maneuver around on the couch to a kneeling position to get better purchase of Brittany's lips. It wasn't frantic or desperate, but it was needy. Santana pulled Britt's bottom lip into her mouth and moaned at the taste of it; cherry Lip Smackers and a different sweetness that was so distinctly Brittany; a taste that her imagination had not gotten right in her dreams.

Brittany's body was begging for more contact, and in a move that was so practiced between the two in their past, she grasped Santana's ass and hoisted her into her own lap where tan legs straddled her lap perfectly. It was like their bodies hadn't missed a beat; yea, they might have been separated for ten long years, but it was like muscle memory. The way they moved flawlessly against one another, falling into a rhythm that felt so rehearsed… it almost didn't feel real.

By the time either of them came up for air, they were gasping, unsure when the last time they had taken a breath was. Brittany was about to dive in for another round of kissing when Santana pulled back, causing the blonde to give her a doubtful look and her cheeks to tinge a shade of pink.

Santana couldn't ignore how absolutely adorable it was to see that look and she couldn't stop herself from leaning in again, but instead of a kiss to swollen lips, she placed a peck on the blonde's nose. She moved and placed a kiss to Brittany's check before grazing her lips across Brittany's chin and placing another to the other side of her face. She maneuvered the blonde's face to the side while her lips blazed a trail of fire to the girl's ear, taking the lobe between her teeth and nibbling, enjoying the gasping sounds escaping from Brittany's mouth with each tug.

She then started a trail of wet kisses down her favorite part of Brittany's anatomy; her neck. It was strong and long but still so soft and kissable. She could feel the racing pulse underneath her lips and pressed an open mouthed kiss to it before sucking hard, not caring that the pale skin would surly show signs of that move in the morning. She smiled against the skin when she felt Brittany's hands tighten around her ass, pulling her even closer as she continued her assault.

When she had her fill of kissing every aspect of Britt's neck, she kissed back up to her lips, kissing her harder than before, immediately begging for entrance into Brittany's mouth and it being granted so quickly it startled them both.

* * *

><p>Brittany was in a haze of absolute and total bliss. She ached for more; the throbbing between her thighs amplified tenfold when Santana had stopped kissing her again to blaze another trail of fire down the other side of her neck and ran her tongue across her collarbone. She shivered with pleasure when the smaller girl in her lap ran her fingers up her sides to tangle into her hair; loving the slight pull on blonde strands when the kisses got intense again.<p>

Eventually it was too much for either to take, and Brittany made another move. She wrapped her hands tightly around Santana's ass once again, this time heaving upwards, causing both of them to lift off the couch into a standing position, San immediately wrapping her legs completely around Brittany who was already making her way down the hall.

They continued to kiss, Brittany running into an end table by the stairs before carefully climbing them to her bed room.

"I've missed you so much…" Brittany mumbled against her best friend's lips, feeling the brunette smile before deepening the kiss again.

Brittany kicked her bedroom door open and moved further into her room before coming to a stop and depositing Santana onto her bed. The brunette was on her knees on the bed facing Brittany who still stood next to it. As the reality of this moment hit them both, things began to slow down again.

Santana reached forward and intertwined her hands with both of Britt's, bringing them up to shoulder level to stare at them on either side of their heads. They both made eye contact at the same time and a sun shattering smile graced Brittany's face; that smile made Santana's thoughts scatter and their lips collided again.

There was still a hint of hesitance, neither knowing how far or fast they wanted this to go, but once again, bodies took over because their minds just couldn't keep up.

Santana was still kneeling in front of a standing Brittany, and asking permission with her eyes, slowly ran her hands down the blonde's side and pushed under her tank top. The hiss that escaped the blonde's mouth was enough to cause Santana's arousal to soak through her already damp panties. Brittany's skin felt like it was on fire, and as she gradually pushed her hands up, taking the tank top with her, Santana's confidence continued to grow.

San leaned down and kissed a path up Brittany's abs, following her hands and the tank top, only and only stopping when her lips came in contact with the material of her bra. It was almost identical to a bra Britt used to have, the pink one with black polka dots, but in reverse; black with pink dots.

She slowly ran her lips over the material, pressing kisses to every pink dot she could find, glancing up occasionally to see the lust radiating from blue eyes. The sight itself was enough to make her want to rip off all of their clothes, but she wanted to take things slow. She wanted to enjoy this reunion, remember it, and even though it was becoming harder to control herself, she knew she only had to hold out a little longer.

* * *

><p>By the time either girl could think properly again, Brittany was hovering over Santana's body on the bed, both in their bras and shorts, lips still gliding together in perfect synchronization. Fingers and hands were beginning to roam more freely, both drinking in each other's bodies like it was the last time they'd see one another.<p>

Brittany pulled away from their kiss to stare down at the beautiful girl below her. This, this was what she had been missing. The look of pure love with that glazed over effect of lust in Santana's eyes; this was where she belonged. Her own hair was framing Santana's features and she couldn't help but smile at how natural it all felt and her heart began to swell.

She kept staring at the brunette, all of her feelings bubbling to the surface, and she couldn't stop them before the tears left her eyes and dripped down onto Santana's cheeks and jaw. She was so embarrassed for crying, but she couldn't stop herself. She wasn't sure why she was crying, but a lot of reasons ran across her mind.

_Guilt. Regret._

But there were others too, some that were becoming more important by the second.

_Love. Hope. Happiness. _

All of these were plaguing her mind, and even though some of them were good things, the bad still ran clear in her mind.

"Brittany…" She heard Santana say, but she could do nothing to stem the flow of tears, "Baby, look at me..."

The term of endearment, so simple and so Santana, finally broke Brittany. Her arms gave out and she collapsed onto San's chest, clinging to the girl and sobbing into her neck, wanting nothing more than to disappear. Santana said nothing; she just ran her hands through blonde hair and cooed softly into Brittany's ear,

"It's ok… it's ok… we're ok now… everything will be ok…" She couldn't help but feel worse after hearing those words, knowing that none of this would have ever happened if she hadn't left.

"I'm sorry!" she sobbed out, wrapping her arms tighter around Santana, "I'm sorry I left and for breaking you and for ruining us... and… and… if there was anything I could do to take it back, I would… I swear I would…"

Santana wrapped her arms tighter around Brittany and kept telling her that it was ok.

"You're here Britt. You're here with me now and nothing else matters, nothing." She could feel Brittany relaxing in her arms and her sobs were quieting, but she still didn't let go. There was still one more thing she wanted to say before this night went any further.

"Just, please don't leave me again B, I don't think I can live without you anymore." She felt Brittany lift off her chest a little, tears still falling, and a fierce look on her face that showed the amount of determination Brittany was about to put into her words.

"I won't. " And that was that. Santana knew by the conviction in the blonde's voice that they were going to be ok. They were going to work through this and come out stronger on the other side because of it.

Before anymore words could be said, Brittany sank back down onto Santana, exhausted after the physical and emotional rollercoaster she just went through.

"Can you just hold me?" Brittany whispered against Santana's neck, her voice sounding so small.

"I will hold you for forever Britt." She responded, kissing the top of the blonde's head and closing her eyes, praying to God that when the sun rose in the morning, none of this was a dream.

* * *

><p>The insistent chiming in her dreams was starting to get the best of her. Actually, it was thoroughly pissing her off. It was causing her to wake up, and she didn't want to enter reality yet because she was unsure of what she would find. She squeezed her eyes shut, willing the sound to stop, but it just wouldn't go away. Finally, she was pulled from the most peaceful night of sleep that she had gotten in a very long time, and realized why that was when she felt the warmth of another body next to her.<p>

An arm was strewn across her body while a leg was thrown across her hip, effectively pinning her to the bed and keeping her close to the other body in the bed. She opened her eyes to a sleeping Brittany, a sight she hadn't seen since the day of her high school graduation. The site was enough to bring a lazy, sleepy smile to her lips, and she decided not to fight the urge and leaned over to place a kiss to the corner of the blonde's lips. She continued her assault on the sleeping beauty, pulling her into consciences with every kiss.

"San… make the noise stop." Brittany whined, causing an even bigger smile to form on Santana's face when she heard the innocence in Britt's voice that she thought the girl had lost. It finally registered in her mind what the blonde had said and heard the noise that had brought her from sleep. At first she couldn't place it, and then she realized it was the door bell.

She sat straight up in bed and looked at the clock, cursing under her breath when she saw the time.

"Brittany, get up! You're going to miss your flight!"

Watching Brittany spring up from the bed was almost comical. Her hair was a wild tangle of blonde curls, falling over strong shoulders that were still only home to her bra. She raced around the room, telling Santana to stop laughing at her and help her get finished packing.

Instead of helping with the packing, Santana went downstairs to let in whoever the doorbell happy guest was. She had a good feeling of who it was, and her suspicions were confirmed when she opened the door to find Quinn standing there, a look of pure rage on her face. The look abruptly dropped when she took in the girl in front of her, not expecting it to be Santana to answer the door, and especially not expecting a Santana Lopez with nothing on but a bra and shorts.

"Nice outfit Lezpez." Quinn snickered, passing by the girl in the doorway and heading toward the stairs. "Let me guess, you guys just woke up, Brittany isn't even packed yet, and she's upstairs throwing her shit into a suitcase?"

Santana had to laugh because it was so spot on, she couldn't even respond. Instead she just continued to laugh as they headed up the stairs, listening intently to Brittany yell some pretty inappropriate things when her suitcase refused to shut. Both girls leaned on the doorframe and watched as Brittany turned into a tornado throughout her room. She had pulled on a tank top by this point and her hair was up in a lose pony tail, but Santana thought she'd never looked better.

"I'm going to make us some coffee," Santana said, turning away from the bedroom, "We have time Quinn, so stop with the looks. Plus you have to wait for Marcia to get home to see Britt off, so, put on the brakes and chill."

She brushed past the hazel eyed blonde, playfully tapping their hips together before heading downstairs.

* * *

><p>"Before you ask Quinn: no we're not together, no we haven't talked about the distance, and no we didn't have sex last night." Brittany figured she would cover all bases before Q could even ask. She glanced up into the bathroom mirror to catch Quinn's eye, toothbrush hanging out of her mouth and waiting for some sort of response. When she got nothing but a smirk and a shrug, she went back to brushing her teeth, unsure if this was a 'I don't care what you do' shrug or a 'you two better figure it out quick' type of shrug.<p>

They finished packing her bags and followed the smell of coffee into the kitchen where Santana and Marcia sat at the table, laughing together like old friends do.

"Bout time you got down here." Marcia said, handing a cup of coffee to two blondes. They drank their coffee in silence, Santana and Brittany occasionally catching each other's eye before smiling and lifting their cups to their mouths, trying to hide the faint hint of a blush on their cheeks.

The morning was passing too fast for Santana, but there was nothing she could do. She had to sit back and smile and hope that by the time Brittany got on her flight, something, _anything,_ would be finalized.

_I'd take a freaking play date at this point!_ She thought to herself as she put her mug in the sink. It was time for Britt to leave and she wasn't ready to say goodbye yet.

"Hey Q, who's getting your car from the airport?" she asked, an idea popping into her mind at the last minute. She really doesn't know why she didn't think of it sooner; she could drive them to the airport and return Quinn's car to her parent's house, all the while providing her a little more time with the two people she loved most.

"Yes, you can take us to the airport." Quinn deadpanned. She wasn't stupid, she knew where the conversation was going and they didn't have time to discuss anymore. "We need to get going if we're going to make it on time guys."

Watching Brittany say goodbye to her mom almost brought her to tears. You could tell the eldest Pierce was trying to keep it together considering this was the first time her daughter had been home in years, and somehow she barely managed. As they were walking out, Marcia grabbed Santana around the waist and pulled her in for a tight hug, only managing to whisper in her ear before they left,

"Don't be a stranger; I better see you again soon."

* * *

><p>Brittany was a freaking mess. She didn't know where to sit in the car. She didn't want to sit in the back and have San sit in front while Q drove but she didn't want to sit in front and make San sit in back. She also didn't want to have both of them sit in back because that would be like Quinn was chauffeuring them around.<p>

_So many decisions! _She thought as they walked toward the car.

Santana immediately went to sit in the back seat, motioning for Brittany to sit up front with Q. Brittany was glad one of them made the choice, because if not, she would still be standing on the lawn. She did however take a moment to glance back at her childhood home. There were so many memories in that house and it wasn't until she was climbing into the car that she realized how much she missed it.

They sat quietly for awhile, just watching the scenery pass by their windows, none of the girls saying much. Brittany was in her own world when she felt the hand on her shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze before slowly removing it. But before Santana's hand could fall back into her lap in the back seat, Brittany reached up and grabbed it, effectively holding it in place. They sat like this for several minutes, just holding hands on B's shoulder, neither noticing the smirk on Quinn's face.

Santana wasn't sure what made her do it, all she knew was that she needed to be touching Brittany. She needed to feel the heat from her skin until she no longer could. She wasn't sure when they would see each other again and this fact caused her to squeeze Britt's hand a little tighter; the reaction being reciprocated by the other girl.

Brittany couldn't stop herself when she turned her face to the side and kissed Santana's palm. It was a lingering kiss; the kind that almost made you sad because you could feel how much emotion was behind it. When she drew her lips back from the tan skin, she turned to face front again, holding Santana's hand for the rest of the drive.

* * *

><p>Quinn parked the car at the airport and they all piled out; grabbing their bags from the trunk and heading towards the terminal. It was a quiet walk at first because honestly, none of them had anything to say. There was still so much that needed to be said but it was too late. They would have to wait another day to finish everything that wasn't accomplished while in Lima. As they approached the sliding doors, Quinn decided she couldn't handle the kicked puppy dog look both of her friends were wearing and sprung into action.<p>

"Oh for Christ sake you two!" She stopped in her tracks, grabbing each of their hands in the process and watched intently until pale and tan fingers intertwined around one another. With a firm nod of her head, Q gathered her stuff and continued to walk in front of the two girls who now were walking hand in hand a few feet behind her.

"Why does she always get so angry with us?" Brittany asked quietly, obviously trying to keep the tension down. _And why is my hand shaking so much? _

"Because she's crazy." Santana responded with a laugh, swinging her and Brittany's hands between them. She glanced to the side and noticed that B was worrying on her lower lip; her teeth pressing against the delicate flesh a little too hard for the Latina's liking.

"Hey…" she said, shaking her hand a little to get Brittany's attention, "You ok in there?" she tapped B on the temple but they kept walking, their feet carrying them closer to the place that was going to separate them.

"Huh? Yea, I'm fine, I just-" she stopped, knowing that no, she wasn't fine. She wasn't ok with this. She wasn't ok with leaving Santana behind again so she could run back to New York, back to her empty apartment and her repetitive job. She wasn't ok with not knowing when she would see Santana again and the thought terrified her more than she thought it would.

They were inside now.

_How did that happen so fast? I'm running out of time! _Brittany thought again, trying hard to remember that she needed to breathe, that she needed to find her I.D. so she could get her ticket at the counter, and she needed to not let go of Santana's hand, regardless if they were standing a few feet from that velvet rope that would keep Santana at the front of the terminal.

She must have looked like a cartoon character by the way her head was whipping from side to side; she'd stare at Santana and then hear the call for her flight and turn back toward the security line.

_What can I do?_

* * *

><p>Santana was watching the blonde girl whose hand was still held firmly in her own, waiting for her to make the first move. Quinn made a very discrete disappearance, only stealing Santana for a moment for a hug and telling her to come to New York soon to visit. She had given the hazel eyed girl a timid nod before watching her disappear into the hustle and bustle of the airport.<p>

They were facing each other now, searching each other's faces for something, _anything_, that would let them know it was going to be ok. One of them just needed to say the word, but Santana had decided in the car that it had to come from Brittany. She had to step up, and if she didn't, Santana would be forced to walk away and figure out how she was going to start living her life again.

They heard another boarding call for Brittany's flight and they knew time was up. Both of their hands were wrapped around the other's, creating a tangle of arms as they continued to stare. Santana was practically begging with her eyes, pleading for the blonde to just say it. Just say they could do this; they could do the long distance thing while they needed to and -

"Can I see you soon?" It was nothing but a whisper, but Santana heard it loud and clear. Brittany broke the ice. It wasn't exactly what Santana had wanted to hear, but it was enough. Britt was making the effort and San was going to see it through.

They would continue to re-build their relationship, one that had been so badly torn apart the first time. It was a fresh start. Something that neither girl realized they needed until that moment. They needed to start over and treat this as if it were brand new, because in all reality, it was.

They were different people now, changed from years of school and work and life in general. They needed to take it slow and learn about this 'new' person they were falling in love with.

"Definitely." Santana said. She released Brittany's hands and threw her arms around the taller girls' neck, taking a deep breath, trying to memorize her smell all over again so she wouldn't forget it.

She pulled back slightly and placed a chaste kiss to the corner of Brittany's lips, which now carried a lopsided grin. It was the type of smile that reached all the way up into her blue eyes, which were now sparkling with unshed tears, but for once, they were happy ones.

The blonde pulled Santana into another hug before taking a deep breath and letting go. She began her walk toward the security check point, only turning around at the last second to see her best friend still standing where she had left her.

Santana was standing in a sea of people, but she was all that Brittany could see. She searched out her eyes, wanting to see them one more time before she left. When blue connected with brown, her heart seemed to melt. There was so much written on that lovely face, but the most pronounced thing was hope. They smiled at one another, Santana lifting her hand to wave goodbye while her lips moved to form silent words. Brittany didn't need to hear them to know what she said. She waved back, and with a smile that put Broadway lights to shame, she whispered back,

"I love you too."

* * *

><p><strong>I'll write an epilogue soon… <strong>

**xoxo-Kat**


	9. Chapter 9, Epilogue

**Don't kill me! Sorry it took me so long… I was out of town this past week and wasn't able to do any writing! Anywho, here is the final chapter of Reunion. I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who has read this story, written a review, or dropped me a PM. Ya'll have been great! And thanks for your patients on my slow updates! But, as promised, here it is! Enjoy.**

* * *

><p><strong>Reunion<br>Epilogue  
>Beautiful Oblivion <strong>

6 Months Later

The sounds of the city coming through the cracked window were enough to pull Brittany from her sleep. For one, it was the middle of December, so why the window was open she wasn't sure. Her next thought was that it was Monday and for anyone who worked on Broadway, it was a day off. She was grateful to be able to sleep in and actually enjoy a full day of doing nothing. She lay in bed for a few moments, listening to the sirens blare and horns honking on the street, loving that it was the sounds of New York City that woke her up instead of a screaming alarm clock. As she continued to listen, another sound crept into her consciousness.

It was the sound of someone breathing.

She glanced down to see the top of Santana's head, the only visible part of the brunette's body, lying securely on her chest. It was a sight that for the last 6 months had become increasingly more frequent, and it always brought a smile to her face. The smaller girl was obviously cold because she was fully wrapped around Brittany's body and had the blankets tucked under her chin. Brittany realized the open window was letting in the insanely chilly outside air and she began to move out from under Santana so she could close it.

"No..." she heard the murmur that was sleepily spoken into her chest and felt lithe arms squeezing her tighter, not letting her get up.

"San, it's freezing in here. I'll be back in like two seconds." She said, trying again to dislodge herself from the ridiculously tight grip Santana had on her. She couldn't help but chuckle at the amount of energy Santana was putting into this effort of keeping her in bed.

"S'not cold… you're warm…" she mumbled, already drifting back into her dreams while Brittany watched. B couldn't stop herself from reaching up and moving a strand of hair out of San's face while she slept.

She could do this for hours; just lay here and watch the love of her life dream while holding onto her and never wanting to let go. It made her think about all the mornings before their high school reunion where she would wake up cold and have no one to wrap her arms around. She thought about how lonely she had been back then and how happy she was now.

And it was all because of one girl.

For some people, they might think that's a little dangerous; putting all your faith and happiness into the hands of one person. I mean, how smart is that really? You're giving someone the opportunity to hurt you but hoping against all odds that they won't. But in all reality, that's what love is. It's having complete and total faith in the other person to not break you.

And Brittany had that faith in Santana. She had that faith in _them_. She knew that they were meant to be and after surviving their ten year separation, neither of them ever wanted to be apart again.

"uhmmm.. what'cha thinkin' about?" Santana mumbled while placing a kiss to Brittany's collarbone.

Brittany isn't surprised to find Santana awake; it's like an unspoken agreement: if one is awake, usually the other is quick to follow.

"Just us…" the blonde said. A spoken agreement they now have is a zero lying policy. They tell each other the truth and don't hide behind secrets anymore. Granted, there's always the air of mysteriousness that both girls have always carried, but since they can read each other like an open book these days, the mystery is usually quick to be solved.

"I love the topic of us." San responded, still placing light kisses to whatever patch of skin she could reach without moving from the warm cocoon of Brittany and the blankets. "Care to elaborate?"

"Just thinking about all the craziness of the past six months and how much I love every minute of it." She leaned down and kissed the top of Santana's head while she was nuzzling her nose into Britt's neck.

"You're right B… it's been awesome."

* * *

><p>0o0o0o0o<p>

5 months and 29 days ago

Santana's flight had landed an hour ago in Indianapolis and she was finally pulling up to her apartment. She sat in her car and looked up at her building. It was in a nice neighborhood, just a few blocks from downtown and had all of the conveniences a girl could ask for. It was one of the old brick buildings that had been refurbished and turned into lofts. They were super modern on the inside but still had that old school feeling on the outside. But as she stared up at her apartment, the pain of her reality crashed back down around her.

She and Brittany hadn't solved anything. They only spoke for a few moments on the phone yesterday. And she was still alone.

She got out of her car and lugged her bags up to her apartment. She wasn't sure what she planned on doing for the next couple of days, but work was not a priority. She had called yesterday to say she needed a few more days off, which was easily granted considering she owns the place, and it gave her a little peace of mind to know it was still running without her.

The exhaustion of her weekend in Lima was starting to take its toll and she barely made it inside before collapsing onto her couch. She took a deep breath, just relishing in the fact that she was home.

_Home…_ she thought, and the word just didn't sit well with her anymore. Sure, it was her home. She had made a home for herself here, but it just didn't feel right. And when she thought about it more, it wasn't that anything had changed; it was quite the opposite actually. It was because everything still felt the same. It still smelled the same way that it did when she left. There were still the same pictures on the wall and the same coffee mug sitting on the drying rack. She doesn't know why she thought it would feel different, but the fact that it didn't made her whole body feel heavy.

She doesn't know when the tears started to run over her nose, but she did know she wasn't going to be able to stop them. It was as if the entire weekend had been nothing but a dream and now she was back in her reality. Back to the daily grind of paper work and fighting with other lawyers. Back to drinking at the same bar with the same people as if her entire world hadn't been turned upside down in the matter of a few days.

Now she knew why it was supposed to feel different. It was supposed to be different because Brittany came back into her life the same way she left it; in a whirlwind. She was back and they were going to work on 'them' and figure everything out. Santana was supposed to be happy and bouncing off the walls with the excitement that they were now going to keep in touch and hopefully take it to the next level when they got the opportunity. But that wasn't happening soon… everything was still the same.

She must have fallen asleep because when she opened her eyes again, the sun was starting to dip down behind the downtown skyline. Her apartment was full of shadows and she literally had to shake her head a few times to remember where she was.

_One weekend in Lima has seriously mind fucked me like whoa. _She thought as she heaved herself off the couch and tripped over her purse on her way to the kitchen. If she had looked at it a little harder, she would have realized it wasn't hers.

She grabbed a bottle of water and turned back toward her living room, noticing her suitcase sitting there, waiting to be unpacked. She knew she could put it off and unpack tomorrow, but she also knew that it would sit open for days on her bedroom floor until she used everything that was in it and then just shove it back under her bed.

"Unpacking it is then…" she mumbled under her breath. She rolled the bag down the narrow hall toward her bedroom, sipping on her water and debating on whether or not she should call Brittany. She wanted to, God knows it's been on her mind since she last spoke to the blonde yesterday, but she didn't want to seem desperate. She might be a more mature Santana Lopez, but she was still Santana Lopez and her pride wouldn't allow her to seem needy.

She waltzed into her bed room and headed straight to the in suite bathroom. She washed her face, hoping it would prepare her for the job ahead and decided that after the full day of traveling, she just needed a shower. She stripped out of her clothes, carelessly tossing them aside as she started the water. She wanted it hot. Like, steam up the mirror so she can't see her reflection for days type of hot.

The water helped. She could feel the tension from her weekend leaving her muscles as soon as she stepped under the hot spray. She rolled her shoulders and cocked her neck to the sides, letting the water do its work on her body and relishing in how warm she felt. She took an obscenely long time but figured everyone else in the complex could fuck off if they needed the hot water. She highly doubted that any of them had experienced anything close to the weekend she had had.

She flipped off the water and climbed out, grabbing the towel she had left on the drying rack and wrapping it around her. The steam from the shower had been leaving the room due to the open door so she closed it, hoping to seal in some of the heat until she was dried off. She stood in front of the mirror and wiped away some of the condensation with her hand and stared at her face for a moment.

She realized in that split second moment of staring at her reflection that some things had changed. Her apartment may seem unchanged since she left, but she could see the change in herself. She noticed the furrow in her brow was a little smoother than it had been since the last time she looked in this mirror. Her eyes had those little flecks of gold scattered on a brown background that hadn't been present in years. Even her lips seemed a little fuller and her skin color a little richer… and all because of one person.

Just the thought of her could bring a smile to her face.

* * *

><p>Blue eyes watched curiously as Santana walked into her bedroom and went straight into the master bath. She heard the water to the shower start and saw clothes being tossed aside. She couldn't help the whimper that left her lips at the thought of Santana in the shower. The steam was already building and rolling out of the open door into the bedroom, causing Brittany to have to squint to even see the pile of clothes on the floor.<p>

_You've waited all day… 20 more minutes won't hurt you._ She thought to herself as she continued to fidget. She was sitting on Santana's bed, just waiting.

You see, Brittany had formed a plan the moment she sat foot on the plane in Lima and that plan was simple: Get back to Santana.

She knew that if she wanted that beautiful woman she had left behind at the Lima Airport, and wanted her for good, she needed to act fast. The plane took off and she silently thanked God for Quinn's love of first class seating and the available wi-fi, because she was able to book another flight before they left the boundaries of Ohio.

She didn't need to tell Q what she was doing because the hazel eyed woman already knew. She dropped Brittany off at her apartment in the East Village before wishing her luck and offering her a ride to the airport in the morning, which B happily accepted. She had climbed the stairs to her apartment, thrown her stuff down, unpacked everything, and repacked one simple carry-on bag. All her years of being a traveling dancer paid off and she knew how to pack light.

Then the first waiting game began. She had spoken to Santana on the phone for a little while, just telling her that she had landed safely and that all was well. She tried to keep the excitement but also the anxiety out of her voice as they said their goodbyes, hoping San hadn't caught onto anything when Brittany asked her basic questions about her plans for the following day. Santana had mentioned not having to work and the extent of her plans were flying back to Indianapolis and getting in some R&R before starting heading back to the office in a few days.

Brittany knew she needed to keep a couple of people in the know, so she called her mom and told her the plan. Her mom was all for it, except the minor detail of figuring out where Santana lived and how she would get into the apartment and-

Thank God for Brittany's mom and her ability to get information. She had hung up with Britt, called San's mom, got the information she needed, and called Britt back. Marcia even got the whereabouts of a hide-a-key that San kept hidden in a chip in the doorframe, and Brittany was set. She knew she just needed to get there and things would happen the way they were supposed to.

And now, here she was. She had arrived well before Santana and just sat down and waited. Well, curiosity got the better of her and she snooped a little, but who could blame her? She only got three days with the love of her life who had been out of her life for ten years… she needed information!

She saw old photos of San in college, hanging off of her cheerleading friends at a party or being tossed into the air at a game. There was a picture on the wall of her and her parents at her graduation; she was in a black gown and red cap and was adorned with several ribbons for her academic achievements. And she looked so happy. Her parents looked so proud to have her squished in between them while she held onto her law degree with a huge grin on her face. It was the grin that Santana never would show in high school, and it made Brittany smile to see it, even if she hadn't been the one the put it there.

It also made Brittany sad to see these things. These were those moments in life that you can't get back, the ones that even though you'll say you have no regrets, you'll still look back and think of what could have been. She knew there was no use dwelling on the past, so instead she continued her search, hoping to find something that could help her realize that maybe, just maybe, they needed that long time apart so they could grow back together.

That ray of hope was found in a shoebox in the back of Santana's closet. Ok, so maybe she snooped a lot, but still, this was what she was looking for. She sat back down onto San's bed and flipped open the lid, a small gasp leaving her lips as she took in its contents.

The corsage Brittany had gotten San at their senior prom sat on top.

A picture of the entire glee club holding their nationals trophy during their senior year was placed directly below it.

She continued to dig and found notes that they had passed, pictures they had taken, and other little mementos of their time together in high school. It was a box that contained everything that was 'them' and she couldn't stop the swell in her heart when she thought about how Santana had held onto these things even after all that Brittany had put her through.

She was pulled from her reminiscing when she heard the first lock being clicked back on the door. She hastily shoved everything back into Santana's closet and sat down on the bed, her heart fluttering a thousand beats per second as she waited to be discovered. And she waited. And she waited a little bit more.

She heard the sound of someone flopping down on the couch and she could tell that San had decided not to go any further. She waited for a little longer, trying to gather her courage to go into the living room. With a deep breath and shaking hands, she got up and marched right into the room, ready to take on the next chapter of their story, but what she saw caused her to clamp her lips shut and move silently forward toward the couch.

Santana was face down on the couch, tear tracks still clear on her face from where her mascara had ran, and arms tucked under her pillow, clinging to it with a desperate grip. She looked so broken and all Brittany wanted to do was lay down next to her and wrap her in a tight embrace and whisper to her that she was here now and that everything would be ok. But she couldn't. She didn't want to wake her and she didn't want to surprise her from a peaceful sleep, so instead, she sat down on the coffee table and waited.

She sat there for almost an hour, elbows on her knees and her face in her hands, just watching Santana sleep. She watched how her facial expressions would change from relaxed to furrowed, and then back again, all the while trying to control herself from brushing away strands of hair from her forehead.

She realized she hadn't peed all afternoon and decided that now would be the time to take care of that… just in case San woke up. She didn't want any interruptions when the moment came for them to finally be able to talk.

Brittany had just finished in the restroom when she heard someone stumble in the living room. She knew Santana was awake and immediately went over to the bed and sat down. She was worried that her legs were going to give out and having Santana find her sitting on the bedroom floor was not exactly how she wanted things to happen.

_Oh God, I'm not ready. Shit, what was I going to say? Think Brittany Think! Breath. Breath. Calm Down. It's just Santana… _

_Annnnd she just walked right past me? _

Brittany was slightly amused at how focused Santana seemed to be on getting into the bathroom. The brunette literally didn't even see her sitting five feet away on her bed. She laughed a little and then continued to wait. She heard movement at the door and looked up, hoping Santana would be coming through it, only to see it being shut.

She let out a deep sigh and continued to wait, knowing that she only had a couple more moments and she would get things settled between them. It was in this moment that her doubts crept into her mind.

_What if she changed her mind?_

_What if it can't work between us?_

_What if the distance is too much?_

_What if-_

She heard the gasp before she registered that her best friend was standing in the bathroom doorway, jaw practically on the floor and a towel wrapped haphazardly around her body. There stood Santana, in all her wet hair and no make-up flawlessness, staring wide eyed at a very non-prepared Brittany.

* * *

><p>"How.. I mean… what?" Santana stuttered, shaking her head back and forth in confusion. But, there was a small smile gracing her features and her eyes sparkling at the sight in front of her. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Here was Brittany, sitting cross-legged on <em>her <em>bed_, _in _Indianapolis, staring at her!_ She was surprised to say the least.

"It's Monday." Brittany responded, completely unsure of why that answer came out, but for her it explained everything. Santana wasn't sure what she meant by it and gave the blonde an inquisitive look that said that she didn't understand. "Monday is my day off, so I figured I'd rather spend it here then just sitting in my apartment."

"How long have you been here?" Santana still wasn't sure what air was, because her chest was rising and falling so rapidly that she wasn't sure if she was even breathing or if her lungs were just heaving for the hell of it.

"A couple of hours… I heard you come in but then when you didn't come in here I went to check and you were sleeping so I figured I'd leave you alone till you woke up." Brittany took a deep breath, her lungs also constricting with a sudden tightness in her chest. The sight of Santana alone could leave her breathless.

"How did you- Why are you-" Santana couldn't even finish a coherent phrase. She felt like an idiot with how she was reacting, but she was literally speechless. It had only been 24 hours apart and she was already being turned into mush at the sight of Brittany. She couldn't get over it. And sitting down on her bedroom floor seemed like the only way to gather her thoughts. Literally, she just sat down where she was because she was at a complete loss on what to do next.

"Your mom told me where the key was and I had to come." Brittany said the words slowly as she unfolded her legs and stood up from Santana's bed, slowly walking toward the girl on the floor. "I had to get here and tell you something. I had to come find you and tell you some things that I forgot to say before I left." She was standing above Santana now, watching as the smaller girl looked up at her from her sitting position, her towel barely clinging to her body.

Britt knelt down, getting on her knees right in front of the brunette so they could be at eye level. The look on Santana's face told her to continue, so she did. Everyone always thought that San was the whipped one, but in all reality, they would do anything that the other asked them to do.

"I love you." She said it and it felt so so good to say out loud, that she said it again. "I love you and I need to be with you and I want you to be with me. Be with me and we'll work on the distance and we'll figure something out. But I need you and I think you need me too and I really just don't want to be without you anymore because it's too hard and-"

She was silenced by a finger to her lips. She had been rambling and her heart was hammering so hard in her chest that she thought she was going to pass out. But that one touch did a million things to her; her heart rate seemed to calm immediately but there was still a thrumming in her body that told her it was the only touch she'd ever need. She finally gathered the courage to look up and was met by a radiant smile on Santana's face, the one only reserved for her.

It healed her to see that smile.

"Ok." _Did she just say ok, because if so I'm so going to kiss her right now! _

"Ok? Like, ok, let's do this sort of ok?" the blonde clarified, still talking with a finger against her lips.

"Yes."

And that was all she needed. She grabbed at Santana's face and pulled her in for the most mesmerizing kiss they'd ever experienced. It started sloppy and urgent, but began to morph into something more. They were both smiling into the kiss as Santana tangled her hands into blonde hair, letting the towel fall between them.

She could hear the hiss that escaped San's mouth when she pressed her body flush against her own fully clothed one, and knew what the brunette wanted. Brittany broke away from the kiss long enough to stand up and pull Santana to her feet. When she did, the towel fully slipped to the floor and she was graced with a full view of a naked Santana.

Ten years had done nothing but make her body even more amazing. Brittany took a full step back to get a better look at the girl she loved, all the while Santana was biting her lip and looking more nervous by the second. The brunette started to fold her arms across her chest but was stopped when two hands caught her wrists; Brittany stepping forward to stop her movements.

"Don't. You're too beautiful; don't try to cover that up." Britt said softly, pulling Santana's arms down until they rested at her sides. San stood watching as Brittany's eyes ran over her body, taking in all that she could. She didn't feel violated or unnerved by the eyes running over her skin, instead she felt pure heat. Almost like a flame was ignited inside of her at the sight of Brittany's eyes glazing over with love and also the tinge of lust.

She watched as Brittany leaned down and pressed a kiss to her shoulder, right where her mole was, a spot she knew that Britt loved. She could feel the warm lips start to travel as hands grazed up and down her sides. She wasn't sure which sensation she wanted to pay attention to at the moment because everything felt so amazing all at once. She felt the blaze of fire creep from her shoulder over her collarbone and couldn't help but moan when she felt teeth graze over the spot where neck met her other shoulder.

Brittany on the other hand was just taking it all in. The smell of Santana's hair after the shower, the warmth of her skin, the taste of it; she couldn't help but want to commit it all to memory. So with each stroke of her tongue and each press of her lips, she began to remember. She remembered the spot right below Santana's ear that could drive the girl wild. She remembered how Santana's loved it when she raked her nails along her back and down her sides to her thighs and back up again. She remembered and recommitted it all to memory, never wanting to forget for a second what she had in her arms.

"Britt…" She heard Santana say, and she brought her lips back to the brunettes, pushing against them and swiping her tongue across the lower one, begging to be able to enter. She felt the space between their bodies vanish as Santana pressed closer to her and she knew that they both needed more contact. She wrenched back from the kiss and peeled off her shirt before grabbing Santana and pulling her back into a deeper kiss.

Santana slowly started walking them towards the bed and stopped when she felt Britt's calves hit the side. She didn't want to lose contact, so she pushed Brittany and fell on top of her, both giggling when they collided with each other and the mass of pillows on the bed. Brittany started scooting back and Santana followed, slowly maneuvering herself to straddle Brittany's hips.

San looked down and couldn't help but let the moment wash over her. She had the most beautiful woman in her bed, ready to love her until she couldn't love anymore; someone that she loved just as much, if not more if that were possible, and someone who she couldn't imagine not having in her life. She could only smile down at Brittany and gently reach down to brush away a lock of blonde hair before leaning down to capture her lips in a quick but passionate kiss.

She knew that she wanted to feel Brittany and the sweat pants and bra were prohibiting that. And almost like she could read her mind, Brittany broke the silence.

"Please take them off." She whispered, her voice a little lower than normal. "Take them off and make love to me."

It was all Santana needed to hear. She wanted this so much that it took every ounce of energy to not rip off Brittany's clothing, leaving only shreds of material behind. Instead, she slowly kissed swollen lips before moving down further. She kissed at her neck, biting down softly before brushing her tongue against heated skin, healing the girl beneath her with each touch.

She kissed down the valley between Brittany's breasts, causing the girl below her to whimper out her name, which only encouraged her to continue. She kissed across the tight pane of the dancer's stomach, nipping at each of her abs that stood out even more every time the blonde tightened up under a swipe of teeth and tongue. When she reached Brittany's hips, she hooked her thumb into her sweat pants and pulled them down slowly, allowing her nails to rake along the long legs before flipping the pants over her head and laughing as they collided with the wall.

She grabbed Brittany's ankle, placing a light kiss to the side of it, when she looked up to see blue eyes staring back at her. The gaze was so sure, so strong, and so full of love that it caused her to release the ankle and make her way back up Britt's body until she was hovering over her again.

Santana slowly leaned down and pressed a feather light kiss to Brittany's eye lid, pulling back ever so slightly and whispering 'I love you' before leaning down and kissing the other. She continued this slow assault, pressing kisses and whispering I love you repeatedly, believing it more and more every time her lips came into contact with Brittany's skin.

After the continued declarations of love, things began to move much faster. Santana reached behind Brittany and unclasped her bra, guiding it slowly down the blonde's arms and tossing it aside. Brittany pulled a fast one and wrapped one leg around Santana's torso and flipped them over, causing her to be on top of Santana, a position she had patiently waited to get as soon as they hit the bed.

She wanted to make love to Santana first. It wasn't a guilt thing, but she felt like the brunette deserved it. She crashed their lips together and ran her hands down San's body, relishing in the way her fingers seemed to remember every curve and contour as if she had just touched her yesterday. She kissed her way down to the brunette's chest and began to circle her left breast, feeling the nipple harden under the moist heat.

Hands tangled in her hair as she wrapped her lips around the hardened bud, swiping her tongue over it again before sucking hard, pulling it into her mouth and releasing it with a pop. She moved over to the other, wanting to lavish both with the same attention. She pinched and rolled the first while licking the underside of the other. It was something she knew Santana always loved, the feeling of not just sucking on her breast, but circling it with her tongue and kissing it softly. These were the things that she remembered and it sent a thrill through her to hear Santana moaning and gasping with every touch.

Brittany continued to the assault to Santana's chest as she ran her fingers down the tan stomach underneath her at an agonizingly slow place, causing San to squirm uncontrollably. She followed the path of her fingers, running her tongue down the brunette's abs until she reached her hips. She dipped her head and kissed each hip bone, moaning when she caught Santana's scent.

Brittany began the teasing in all of this; running her nails up and down the inside of Santana's thighs, barely grazing her wet folds with her fingers before passing over them to trace the crease where thigh met torso. She began to settle herself between Santana's legs, lifting one of them above her shoulder while blowing cool streams of air toward the aching center. She wanted to enjoy the view for a little while longer.

She looked down at the dripping core and then up toward the head of the bed where Santana sat up on her elbows, watching the scene between her legs with unmasked lust. Brittany smirked a little as she ran a single digit up the slick heat, loving the moan that escaped from Santana's swollen lips as she threw her head back. She watched Santana's hips jump when she traced a small circle around her clit, coating it with her arousal and making it slick under her fingers. She knew it was only a matter of time before-

"Ugh.. Brittany…" Santana moans out, pulling her head back up to look down at the girl between her legs, "Please."

_I love it when she begs… _

_W_ith that final thought and a smirk, Britt plunged her tongue as deep as she could inside of Santana. She couldn't help but moan at the taste of San in her mouth and on her lips and face; it caused her own arousal to shoot through her lower stomach and cause her panties to be soaked in seconds. The taste alone was leaving her breathless but the feeling of Santana's walls clenching around her tongue and the way the Latina's thighs would tighten around her head only made her want this to last longer.

She began tracing harder circles over the Latina's clit as she ran her tongue up and down wet folds. She knew by the way Santana's hips were driving up to meet her face that the brunette needed more friction, and without warning, she pulled back and plunged two fingers into Santana.

"Holy fucking… shit… harder B…" Her wish was Brittany's command. She pumped harder and deeper as she felt her fingers get coated with Santana's juices, occasionally leaning down to swipe her tongue around a swollen clit while her other hand ventured back up Santana's body to squeeze at her breast. Santana's hips were still thrusting up to meet her hand and she listened intently as Santana tried to get her attention.

"Come… come here... I need to see... come here…" Santana panted, unable to form a coherent sentence while pulling at Brittany's shoulders to bring her back up to her level. She felt Brittany lips latch around her clit one more time, giving it one more swipe of her tongue before she felt the kisses begin to work their way up her body again. Brittany's long fingers stayed where they were; knuckle deep and curling ever so slightly to hit that spot that no other person had ever found inside of Santana.

Brittany knew what Santana wanted, and she wanted the same. She wanted to watch the girl below her shatter into a million pieces; to hit that highest of highs before tumbling over the edge. It wasn't something they did often when they were younger; even after they became official in high school it was hard for them to make eye contact during an orgasm, but this time, they both needed it.

She came face to face with Santana again and ghosted their lips together, both panting into each other's mouths, sharing the same air. Brittany's fingers continued to work their magic and she could feel the walls getting tighter and tighter around her hand, making it harder to dip in and out. She could tell Santana was close by the way her breath was coming in short spurts, her name being mixed in with the moans coming from her mouth. She looked up and met the brown eyed gaze, one that was glazed over with lust and hooded with desire. Brittany leaned down and pressed another kiss to the corner of her mouth before whispering 'I love you' one more time.

Santana came undone.

The orgasm hit her so hard her entire body arched off the bed, pushing Brittany's fingers deeper inside of her while her walls clinched around them. Brittany continued running her thumb over Santana's throbbing clit, causing the intensity to skyrocket to an all time high. Britt could feel the way Santana's orgasm was ripping through the girls' body, causing it to shake and shutter as she continued to scream out Brittany's name.

When San started to come down, her back resting on the bed again, she wrapped both arms around Britt, fusing them together and nuzzling her face into the blonde girls' neck. She inhaled deeply, still feeling the last remains of her orgasm shoot through her and moaning when she felt Britt slowly remove her fingers. Britt leaned onto her left arm and brought her fingers up to her mouth, swiping her tongue over them before pulling them in and sucking them clean.

"Damn B..." Santana gasped out, her arousal already returning from the sight of Brittany cleaning the stickiness from her fingers.

Brittany couldn't help but smile and lean down for another kiss, swallowing the moan from Santana when she tasted herself on the blonde's tongue. Brittany pulled away and laid her head onto San's chest, listening to the way her heart was pounding against her ribs and she couldn't' help but close her eyes and listen to the sound that meant the most in her world.

"It's crazy how you can make my heart pound but also make me feel so calm all at the same time…" Santana whispered into her hair, placing a kiss somewhere in the blonde locks.

It might not make sense to some, but it was perfectly clear to Brittany. They always understood each other and this was no exception. Right now, Britt's heart was also pounding, but she felt so at home in Santana's arms and she knew exactly how she felt.

She began to murmur out a response but was silenced when Santana reached down and cupped her cheeks, pulling her up into another kiss. This one was the same as the first one they'd shared, slow and passionate but building in intensity.

They broke away for only a second, Brittany allowing Santana full access to her neck while hands began to roam.

"Let me love you." Santana whispered into her neck as she began to push at the blonde's shoulder, effectively flipping their positions so once again San was on top.

Brittany didn't say anything; she just looked up into Santana's eyes and knew this was it. This wasn't going to be like the last time. This wasn't going to be a onetime thing. This was them, and this time it was going to last forever.

"I love you." She whispered, all doubt wiped clean by the smile that graced the Latina's features at her words. She saw the spark in Santana's eyes and she felt the love in every touch and she knew she was finally home.

"And I love you." Santana replied before leaning down and kissing her softly, "But enough talking, I needs to get my sweet lady kisses on." And with a final chuckle from each of them, they both slipped into their own peaceful oblivion, both knowing they'll never have to leave it again.

* * *

><p>They stayed in bed for the rest of the day and on into the night, making love on every level, reconnecting to each other in a way that was familiar but also brand new. They were passionate in their love making; sometimes it was hot and heated, but eventually it settled into lazy movements and slow swipes of fingers and tongues.<p>

After their final go, which ended with both of them on the floor wrapped up in a sheet, they laid murmuring to each other, just sweet nothings whispered against chests and stomachs. Fingers ran through brown and blonde hair alike, both just enjoying the closeness. Santana was doing everything she could to not drift to sleep when Britt ran the tips of her fingers across her forehead, but it was becoming increasingly difficult.

"Go to sleep love." Brittany whispered into her hair, "I'll be here when you wake up."

And with that final reassurance, Santana slipped into the most peaceful night of sleep she had ever had.

0o0o0o0o0o

* * *

><p>It was almost noon before either woman decided to even think about getting out of bed. The window to Brittany's apartment was still open and it was still freaking freezing in the bedroom, but neither girl seemed to mind. They both huddled under the comforter as they made their way into the bathroom and toward the shower.<p>

Santana needed to get ready and Brittany was just joining her just because she wanted to. After a nice round in the steamy bathroom, Santana headed back into the bedroom, the frigid air hitting her and forcing her to run over and clamp the window shut.

"Fuckin' freezin' in here!" she said through chattering teeth, the warmth from the sex and the shower totally leaving her body. She wrapped Brittany's robe tighter around her body and began digging through her suitcase for her clothes, hoping that she could get them on before her toes fell off or something.

"San," Brittany said, causing Santana to turn around and see a bra and panty clad Britt standing in the bathroom doorway. _Sweet Jesus, she doesn't even know what she does to me.. _"Why are we up?" The way she cocked her head to the side, resting it on the doorframe, was by far the most adorable thing Santana had ever seen. Ok, so everything Britt did was cute or amusing or adorable, but you can't blame the woman, have you seen her girlfriend?

"I have to go somewhere B, but I'll be back later on." Santana said, pulling on a pair of black pants before diving back into her suitcase for her bra.

She felt arms wrap around her waist and she leaned back into the embrace, smiling at how perfectly she fit into the curve of Britt's body.

"No secrets San… you promised." The blonde whispered into her ear, "Where are you going?" Santana turned around in her arms and chanced a look into Brittany's eyes. This had been bugging her all weekend. Ever since she landed in New York she had been hiding this from Brittany, but now, it was time to come clean.

She grabbed Brittany's hands and led her over to the bed, sitting her down on the side before taking a seat next to her. She rubbed patterns over B's palm and waited, hoping that maybe Brittany would forget about it until another time.

"San?" There it was again. The head cocked to the side and the furrowing of her eyebrows, a look that Santana knew would be the death of her some day. "Ok, now I'm getting worried." Brittany said, the panic rising in those blue eyes as Santana continued to stare at the floor and not answer her questions.

"Are we breaking up? Are you leaving, cause if you're leaving you have to tell me cause you said you were going to leave-"

"Britt, baby, stop." She said back, silencing the blonde with a stern look and a finger to her lips. She decided it was now or never, took a deep breath, and spilled.

"I'm going for an interview today." She said, looking up into blue eyes and hoping she was understood what she was saying. She had been throwing it around for a couple of weeks. She decided it was time to take the next step and she didn't want to talk to Britt about it until she actually had an offer, but it seemed the blonde was more intuitive than she thought. When Brittany still didn't respond and only offered an even deeper frown, she continued.

"I have an interview today, here, in New York. It's at Baker & McKenzie in Manhattan…" She trailed off, hoping it was enough, but realized she needed to elaborate. "They offered me a job after I sent my resume out and they wanted me to come in today since I was in town and do a formal interview."

She had to stop talking because Brittany already bowled her over, throwing her back onto the bed and kissing her with such ferocity that it took her breath away. She loved controlling Britt, and this was the epitome of that. When the dancer pulled back, there were tears in her eyes and a smile on her face that made Santana's heart do funny things in her chest.

"You're getting a job here?" Brittany asked, her grin growing to a thousand mega-watt smile. "You've moving here, with me?"

"Is that ok?" Santana knew it was a dumb question, but she didn't want Britt to not have a choice in the matter. She knew what she wanted; she wanted to be here, she wanted to wake up every day in this girls' arms and never have to leave them again. No distance apart. No phone calls on quiet nights in separate cities and no airport terminal goodbyes. She wanted this and she hoped with every ounce of her being that Brittany did to.

"No it's not ok." Brittany said, blue eyes bouncing between brown, taking in the way Santana's face contorted with confusion. "It's absolutely, 100%, the most perfect thing in the world."

Santana let out a breathy laugh before lifting her head off the bed and capturing Brittany's lips with her own.

They were home. They had made the most convoluted of circles to get back to one another, but they made it. Ten years of tears, hookups, and lonely nights held a void that could only be filled by the person staring back at them now. Both of these women had never experienced a love quite like this, and if they have it their way, they'll never have to worry about any of that ever again.

"I love you Santana, I love you more than I've ever loved anyone in this entire world." The words rang out around the bed room, the noise of New York City playing softly in the background. This was their city now, one that they would get to share with each other for as long as they wanted to stay. The thought of spending the rest of her life with Brittany brought an even larger smile to Santana's face.

She knew it was corny, but she couldn't stop herself as the words bubbled in her throat. They were her words from many years ago, ones that were spoken so truly back then, and meant even more to her now. She reached out and tucked a blonde strand of hair behind Brittany's ear before pulling her down and kissing her chin, her nose, and each of her cheeks. She saved Britt's eye lids for last, her breath ghosting over Brittany's features as she sang the words…

"And I love you, I love you, I love you, like never before…"

_The End_

* * *

><p><strong>I'm going to play the author card and ask a huge favor from you. Whether you're an anon or you're registered, would you please drop me a line so I know how many people actually read this. It's nice tohave reviews and the counter, but to physically see them makes my day! So, come on! Help a sista out and right me a review! I don't care if it's a 'hi this sucked balls', just let me know you read it! <strong>

**Also, take a look at my other stuff. I have a couple of stories started, and have an idea for another, so yea, keep a lookout for new stuff! Much love everyone and thanks again for being the best audience a girl could have! All the sweet lady kisses for you!**

**xoxo-Kat**


End file.
